A Scarred Soul and a Broken Bond
by Liza Taylor
Summary: Ivypaw had always felt inferior to her sister so she began training in the Dark Forest. However when a cat with a scarred face apporaches her in a dream Ivypaw will be pushed into a battle not only on the outside but within herself. SCARRED HEART SEQUEL!
1. The Two Sides of The Same Cat

**Okay. Before I begin, I would like to say this. First off, this is a spin-off sequel to A Scarred Face. If you don't want to have a sequel to A Scarred Face then don't read it as a sequel but a possibility of the future that you don't need to accept. The reason for it being a spin-off sequel is that I wanted to write about the other Brightheart more. Fading Echoes stuff will be in it so I shall be bending time and such. However all the deceased cats will still be deceased. Because of that, there will be allegiances put up so you don't need to go back to the original to check who's gone. **

**So yeah. This ended up way longer than I wanted it to. I just wanted to say that. Remember. It doesn't have to be a sequel if you don't want to be. And yes, there will be inconstancies because I want Poppyfrost to have kits and names are changed to reflect the actual book and other stuff. **

**Okay. I'll stop now and let you all enjoy the spin-off sequel to A Scarred Face.**

The starry pool glistened in the moonlight, stars dancing on the surface. Around the pool sat a small group of cats, every single one had stars shining off their pelts.

"I can't believe I'm standing here," whispered a ginger splotched she-cat, her face beautiful and unscarred.

"You deserve to be here," said the white she-cat next to her. She licked the ginger splotched she-cat's shoulder. "You fought with everything you had. Now, you will help us with this prophecy."

"I agree," said the ginger tom from the other side of the unscarred she-cat. His green eyes were lit with intelligent. "You protected ThunderClan."

The she-cat looked away from the tom, her green eyes filled with distress. "But I've done horrible things. She did horrible things but I was there. I let it happen. And now…and now." She struggled not to let a sob escape. She did not want to break down in front of them. She sucked in a deep breath. Have to stay strong. Have to stay strong.

A black and white tom placed his tail on her shoulder. He was smaller than the other cats, clearly an apprentice. However the way he held himself and the sparkling stars on his pelt said otherwise. "Brightheart. Do not worry." He locked his amber eyes onto her green ones. "We will not let this tragedy happen. You suffered through one because of the other you but not again."

"Yeah!" agreed a small gray tom with black stripes. "We won't let the clans suffer!"

Brightheart chuckled. The gray tom was swiping at the air, fighting invisible enemies. Her apprentice was always looking out for her. Even here in StarClan. His half sister spent time with him every now and then but Bumblepaw seemed to be attached to Brightheart. Even when Brightheart talked to her friends and family from the past he was always there, waiting for her. Frostfur had told her not to worry about it too much. He was the first of his current family to die and he had felt kinship to Brightheart. He would stop following her around after his family began joining StarClan.

Although she hated to say it, she enjoyed Bumblepaw's company. She may never forgive herself for letting him die but she could make it up to him here in StarClan.

"Good," whispered Frostfur, "You're not upset anymore."

"Let's focus on the problem at paw shall we?" said Firestar. He looked down into the starry pool. Reflecting within it were two young she-cats sleeping side by side.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Frostfur.

Brightheart looked up at her mother. "I have no choice."

Frostfur nodded and stepped back. "Of course."

"We will support you all the way," said Firestar, his eyes filled with warmth. "StarClan will support you."

"Good luck!" yelled Bumblepaw loudly. "Come back soon!" He flinched as Firestar looked at him with amusement. "Sorry," he whispered.

"You can do this," said Swiftpaw. His eyes shone with affection. "I know you can."

Brightheart wondered what would have happened if Swiftpaw had lived the dog attack. Would it mean that she would take him on as a mate instead of Cloudtail? She pushed the thoughts away. Cloudtail probably thought she was a monster at the moment. She just hoped when it was time for him to join her in StarClan he would forgive her, or at least understand what happened.

She took a deep breath and left the pool of water and her friends as she headed down the hill. She would do everything she could. She was the only one who could. She would prevent another tragedy like that happening again!

Far, far, away, where the lights of StarClan could not reach the black trees loomed casting large shadows that seemed to coat the forest floor. Cats writhed in the shadows but she just ignored them all as she walked.

They were nothing compared to her. All they could do was watch. She stopped before a small clearing. Yes. This was the spot she needed to be in. She took a couple steps forward and the scenery around her changed to a beautiful lush field.

Before her were two cats. A young pretty silver and white tabby pinned under a broad shouldered dark brown tom. The tom was speaking to the she-cat but she could not hear what was going on. The tabby released the she-cat and the she-cat dove for him again. It was obviously a training session.

"What brings you here?"

She turned her head for the dark brown tabby had come up on her blind side. He looked like a copy of the cat training the she-cat except for his eyes. "Tigerstar," she said lightly as a greeting.

The huge tabby towered over her but she was not afraid of a cat like him. She would not back down nor show respect to him.

"This is your first time to one of the training sessions," he said. His voice was level and she knew he was trying to figure her out. For the cats of the Dark Forest she was a mystery. Of course Tigerstar knew who she was but he didn't understand why she was here instead of frolicking around StarClan.

"I don't know," she replied, her single eye showing humor. "I guess I just wanted to see one of these training sessions that you talk about." She turned forward to watch the training cats.

The she-cat scrambled away from the tom and said something to him before running away. The tom called something after her before approaching Tigerstar and her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise.

Brightheart sighed in annoyance. "Can't I do anything without questions?"

"Hawkfrost. Let's go," said Tigerstar. He was watching her intently but he made no move to question her. She had proven herself over and over again in the training of the cats of the Dark Forest and unlike Darkstripe she could actually think for herself.

"But…" began Hawkfrost but a look from his father silenced him. He dipped his head. "Alright."

She turned her head to watch the father and son leave as they came. She didn't move until they were finally gone, disappeared back into the world of the Dark Forest. Only then did she relax. "Finally," she said stretching her muscles. "Those toms are ridiculous."

She turned her full attention to the place where the she-cat had gone to. She settled down, sitting in a comfortable position with her tail wrapped around her paws. She would wait and wait until it was time. She had secretly visited the other alive cats that Tigerstar and Hawkfrost have been training but she was the only one that the she-cat knew would work. After all, her blood did flow through that cat's veins.

"Well ThunderClan?" she asked the sky. "What are you going to do about this one?"

He Ev


	2. Alligences

A L L E G I A N C E S

**T h u n d e r C l a n**

Leader **Bramblestar **- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Deputy **Brackenfur**-golden brown tabby tom

Medicine Cat **Jayfeather**-gray tabby with blind blue eyes

Warriors (toms and she-cats without kits)

**Graystripe**-long-haired gray tom

**Millie**-striped gray tabby she-cat

**Dustpelt**-dark brown tabby tom

**Sandstorm**-pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Sorreltail**-tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

**Cloudtail**-long-haired white tom

**Thornclaw**-golden brown tabby tom

**Spiderleg**-long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

**Birchfall**-light brown tabby tom

**Whitewing**-white she-cat with green eyes

**Hazeltail**-small gray-and-white she-cat

**Mousewhisker**-gray-and-white tom

**Cinderheart**-gray tabby she-cat  
**Apprentice, Ivypaw**

**Lionblaze**-golden tabby tom with amber eyes  
**Apprentice, Dovepaw**

**Foxleap**-reddish tabby tom

**Icecloud**-white she-cat

**Toadstep**-black-and-white tom

**Rosepetal**-dark cream she-cat

**Briarlight**-dark brown she-cat

**Blossomfall**-tortoiseshell and white she-cat

Apprentices

**Dovepaw**-pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

**Ivypaw**-silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

Queens

**Ferncloud**-pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat, green eyes

**Poppyfrost**-tortoiseshell she-cat, (mother to Cherrykit, a ginger she-cat, and Molekit, a brown-and-cream tom)

Elders

**Mousefur**-small dusky brown she-cat

**Purdy**-plump tabby with a gray muzzle, former loner

**S h a d o w C l a n **

Leader **Blackstar**- large white tom with huge jet black paws

Deputy **Rowanclaw**-ginger tom

Medicine Cat **Littlecloud**- very small tabby tom

**Apprentice-Flametail**

Warriors

**Oakfur**-small brown tom  
**Apprentice, Ferretpaw**

**Smokefoot**-black tom

**Toadfoot**-dark brown tom

**Applefur**-mottled brown she-cat

**Crowfrost**-black-and-white tom

**Ratscar**-brown tom with long scar across his back  
**Apprentice, Pinepaw**

**Snowbird**-pure white she-cat

**Tawnypelt**-tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes  
**Apprentice, Starlingpaw**

**Olivenose**-tortoiseshell she-cat

**Owlclaw**-light brown tabby tom

**Shrewfoot**-gray she-cat with black feet

**Scorchfur**-dark gray tom

**Redwillow**-mottled brown and ginger tom

**Tigerheart**-dark brown tabby tom

**Dawnpelt**-cream-furred she-cat

Apprentices

**Flametail**-ginger tom

**Ferretpaw**-cream-and-gray tom

**Pinepaw**-black she-cat

**Starlingpaw**-ginger tom

Queens

**Kinkfur**-tabby she-cat with long fur that sticks out at all angles

**Ivytail**-black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat

Elders

**Cedarheart**-dark gray tom

**Tallpoppy**-long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

**Snaketail**-dark brown tom with tabby-striped tail

**Whitewater**-white she-cat with long fur, blind in one eye

W i n d C l a n

Leader **Onestar**- brown tabby tom

Deputy **Ashfoot**- gray she-cat

Medicine Cat**Kestrelflight**-mottled gray tom

Warriors

**Owlwhisker**-light brown tabby tom with deep chest scars  
**Apprentice, Whiskerpaw**

**Whitetail**-small white she-cat

**Nightcloud**-black she-cat

**Gorsetail**-very pale gray-and-white tom with blue eyes

**Weaselfur**-ginger tom with white paws

**Harespring**-brown-and-white tom

**Leaftail**-dark tabby tom with amber eyes

**Antpelt**-brown tom with one black ear

**Emberfoot**-gray tom with two dark paws

**Heathertail**-light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes  
**Apprentice, Furzepaw**

**Breezepelt**-black tom with amber eyes  
**Apprentice, Boulderpaw**

**Sedgewhisker**-light brown tabby she-cat

**Swallowtail**-dark gray she-cat

**Sunstrike**-tortoiseshell she-cat with large white mark on her forehead.

Apprentices

**Furzepaw**-gray-and-white she-cat

**Boulderpaw**-large pale gray tom

**Whiskerpaw**-light brown tom

Queens

Elders

**Webfoot**-dark gray tabby tom

**Tornear**-tabby tom

R i v e r C l a n

Leader **Volestar-** small brown tabby tom

Deputy **Graymist**-pale gray tabby she-cat  
**Apprentice, Troutpaw**

Medicine Cat **Mothwing**-dappled golden she-cat  
**Apprentice, Willowshine**

Warriors

**Reedwhisker**-black tom  
**Apprentice, Hollowpaw**

**Mintfur**-light gray tabby tom

**Icewing**-white she-cat with blue eyes

**Minnowtail**-dark gray she-cat  
**Apprentice, Mossypaw**

**Pebblefoot**-mottled gray tom  
**Apprentice, Rushpaw**

**Mallownose**-light brown tabby tom

**Robinwing**-tortoiseshell-and-white tom

**Beetlewhisker**-brown-and-white tabby tom

**Petalfur**-gray-and-white she-cat

**Grasspelt**-light brown tom

Apprentices

**Willowshine**-gray tabby she-cat with a torn right ear

**Hollowpaw**-dark brown tabby tom

**Troutpaw**-pale gray tabby she-cat

**Mossypaw**-brown-and-white she-cat

**Rushpaw**-light brown tabby tom

Queens

**Duskfur**-brown tabby she-cat

**Mosspelt**-tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

Elders

**Dapplenose**-mottled gray she-cat

**Pouncetail**-ginger-and-white tom

C A T S O U T S I D E O F C L A N S

**Smoky**-muscular gray-and-white tom who lives in a barn at the horseplace

**Floss**-small gray-and-white she-cat who lives at the horseplace


	3. The First Contact

**So, here is chapter 1. Enjoy!**

Ivypaw's pawsteps were slow and precise. Her tail was lifted above the ground behind her and her weight was balanced among her body. Her target was in front of her. It scurried slowly in the undergrowth, unaware of the cat stalking it. The mouse lifted its head and Ivypaw froze in her tracks. She sent it mental pleas to keep looking. It did. Closer and closer. Almost there. That mouse was hers.

"Ivypaw!"

Ivypaw yowled in annoyance and pushed off her back legs but it was too late. The mouse was already gone. She hissed in annoyance and whirled around to face her sister.

Dovepaw was watching her with a happy expression on her face. A small black bird was in her jaw. Ivypaw looked at the bird in annoyance. Dovepaw put down the bird. "Did you catch anything?"

"I would have," replied Ivypaw, "If you hadn't scared it away."

"Oh. I'm sorry," said Dovepaw as she put down the bird. Her ears were pulled down.

Ivypaw looked away. "It doesn't matter."

"Oh, here you two are," Cinderheart and Lionblaze walked over.

"Did you catch anything?" Cinderheart asked Ivypaw.

Ivypaw looked away from her mentor. Her eyes shifted over to Lionblaze who was talking to Dovepaw quietly off to the side. Her fur bristled. What were they talking about over there? Why did it always seem that Dovepaw was talking to the warriors like she was an equal? She had even seen her sister go talk to Firestar of all cats. Why her? What made her so special?

_"Why indeed? Why is Dovepaw treated like that?"_

Ivypaw blinked. What was that? It sounded like someone was speaking to her but in her own thoughts.

"Ivypaw?"

Ivypaw looked up at her mentor. She realized that Cinderheart was still waiting for an answer to her previous question. "No," she said, her voice neutral. "I didn't." Blaming it on Dovepaw would get her nowhere plus even if she did, she wouldn't be listened to. Dovepaw was perfect. She wasn't. Dovepaw could do no wrong. She could.

Cinderheart didn't say anything but Ivypaw knew the she-cat was disappointed in her. Disappointed how pathetic her apprentice was at hunting. Well Cinderheart didn't really matter to Ivypaw. As long as she could make her mentor Hawkfrost happy she was fine.

"Let's return to camp," spoke Lionblaze. His golden pelt shone in the slowly setting sun as he began leading the group back to camp. Cinderheart hurried to catch up with him and the two were talking to each other with the apprentices a couple pawsteps away.

"Those two would like cute together as mates don't you think?" Dovepaw asked Ivypaw.

"Sure," replied Ivypaw not really paying attention to the question. She picked up her pace so she wasn't walking next to her sister anymore. However when she did, now she could hear Cinderheart's and Lionblaze's conversation. And it was about her.

"Ivypaw is a great fighter," said Cinderheart. "She has a couple of moves that could take down opponents twice her size but her hunting skills are still a bit lacking."

"Dovepaw is much better at hunting but she still lacks the skills in battle. I think she doesn't understand the importance of them as well as the importance of the borders."

Cinderheart chuckled. "Well our apprentices can't be the best at everything."

Ivypaw thankfully didn't have to listen to their conversation anymore for the camp was now in view. She followed the two warriors in without a word.

It may have been almost nightfall but the camp was still bustling. Sitting on the High Rock, looking down on his clan was Bramblestar. He was discussing something with his deputy Brackenfur. From the stories Whitewing had told her, the previous leader, Firestar was killed in a battle against RiverClan and ShadowClan. The clans had invaded the camp and many cats were injured but Firestar was the only one who had passed away.

"Let's eat together," suggested Dovepaw from behind her.

"Maybe you should eat with the warriors," spat Ivypaw in annoyance before heading to the fresh-kill pile herself. She picked up a vole and settled down to eat.

Nearby Briarlight was dragging herself back to Jayfeather's den. Jayfeather was a pawstep behind her. Ivypaw felt bad for the she-cat. From the clan rumor that was going around it looked like Briarlight would pass into StarClan soon.

That thought made her turn to Graystripe and Millie who were sharing tongues on the sunning rock. Millie's eyes were tracking her kit sadly. Ivypaw had heard that one of her kits, Bumblepaw had not even made it into warriorhood for he was killed by a twolegged monster on the search for Sol.

Sitting on the other rocks were Mousefur and Purdy. Mousefur had looked much older after Longtail had been killed to retrieve her mouse and Briarlight was maimed. She tore her eyes away.

They settled on Dustpelt and Ferncloud. They were talking about something and laughing about it while next to them Poppyfrost was grooming her kits. The father, Berrynose was currently missing, presuming dead.

Ivypaw finished her vole and got up. She couldn't wait for training tonight with Hawkfrost. At least then she didn't have to deal with the stares of her clanmates.

"Hey!" yowled Ivypaw as Cloudtail bumped into her.

"Oh, sorry Ivypaw," said Cloudtail looking down at his granddaughter.

Ivypaw didn't really like him that much. His eyes were dull and he seemed to be in his own world most of the time. His fur wasn't groomed regularly but for some reason he didn't retire to the elder's den. When she had asked Whitewing about that all her mother would say was that he had lost Whitewing's mother and dealing with that. That was it. No matter how much she pushed she could not find out more.

Ivypaw crawled into the apprentice den and settled on her moss bed on one side of it. Dovepaw was on the other. It was very roomy since they weren't sharing it with any other cats at the moment and by the time Poppyfrost's kits were old enough to enter the nursery they would already be warriors.

She shifted her position on her bed and drifted off to sleep. What was Hawkfrost going to teach her today?

A Dream

When Ivypaw opened her eyes she was in the lush field that Hawkfrost had taught her. She looked around but she didn't spot the large tabby anywhere. "That's odd," she said out loud. "Hawkfrost!" she called.

No reply.

Now what?

She debated whether to go back to the waking world or not. Nothing like this had happened before. He was always here, waiting for her.

"Took you long enough to get here."

Ivypaw stood still. That voice had come from behind her but it wasn't Hawkfrost's. It was a she-cat's. Ivypaw turned to the voice, clearly confused. When she saw the cat's face she recoiled back in horror. "W…W…Who are you?" she yowled.


	4. The Discussion With A Scarred Cat

**Chapter 2.**

The cat before Ivypaw was a white she-cat with ginger splotches. The right side of her face was scarred. Ivypaw had never seen somecat this injured before. Briarlight's injury wasn't as bad externally as this.

"Who are you?" cried Ivypaw.

"Brightheart," replied the she-cat. "I'm a friend of Hawkfrost."

"Oh?" Ivypaw relaxed. A friend of Hawkfrost was a friend of hers. However she did feel a moment of envy for this she-cat. She t to spend time with Hawkfrost. Fear fluttered up within Ivypaw. Was this she-cat and Hawkfrost…more than friends?

"Relax," spoke the she-cat, settling down in a sitting position. "Hawkfrost and I are not like that."

Ivypaw flinched. Was her thoughts that open? "Ummm," she spoke. "Where's Hawkfrost?"

"He needs to continue training the other cats so I was entrusted to take care of you for now."

Ivypaw's heart dropped. Did that mean that she wasn't that important to Hawkfrost? But she had been working so hard! She thought she was making Hawkfrost proud!

"Don't worry," said Brightheart. "It has nothing to do with you. Hawkfrost just realized that since you are in ThunderClan, you would need to learn things from a cat previously from ThunderClan."

"Really?" said Ivypaw. "But, I've never heard of you. I mean, not like Tigerstar who was told in kithood stories." She thought for a moment before adding, "But I know those stories are lies. Tigerstar wanted to do his best for ThunderClan but they didn't want his help."

Something flickered across Brightheart's face but it was gone faster than Ivypaw could register it. "Yes," she spoke. It sounded like Brightheart was treading on fragile ground. "Like him."

"Did…" Ivypaw backed off. That was too personal of a question.

"Did what?" asked the she-cat. "You may ask me."

"That scar. Did the ThunderClan cats give that to you?" Ivypaw flinched. Was that the right thing to say?

However it seemed it didn't matter to the she-cat for she replied right away. "No. This injury was given to me long before I decided to help my clan. Of course they ended up punishing me for it." The last part was said in a snarl.

Brightheart relaxed. "Sorry about that Ivypaw. It's just a very unpleasant memory for me."

"I understand," Ivypaw dipped her head to the older she-cat. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to be meeting heroes like Brightheart, Tigerstar and Hawkfrost. There was no way her sister could top that with her help to Bramblestar and the warriors.

"Anyway," said Brightheart as she got to her paws. "It's time for you to return so we'll begin our training tomorrow night."

Ivypaw scrambled to her paws. This was the first time she would return without being exhausted. "Sure," she said happily before running out of the field.

Brightheart

Brightheart watched as the silver and gray she-cat's form disappear in the distance before turning her head to see Hawkfrost approach her.

"Where's Ivypaw?" he asked, his blue eyes flickering in the direction she had went. His eyes shifted back to Brightheart.

"Relax," said Brightheart. "She'll still be a pawn in your master plan. I just decided to take her off your paws before you scare her away."

"What are you talking about?" snapped Hawkfrost.

"No. Not allowed to do that," spoke Brightheart, lifting up her tail as Hawkfrost took a step towards her. "You will not lay one hair on me or you will regret it," she snarled with malice. She didn't mind making Hawkfrost scream for mercy but she still needed him for now. "Anyway. Like I was saying. Haven't you noticed that you had never been able to keep the she-cats under your control? Honestly. Remember Tawnypelt? She rejected you and probably Mothwing did as well. Why?"

Brightheart leaned forward so there was only a tiny gap between them. "It's because you don't know how she-cats think."

"What are you talking about now?" Hawkfrost stepped back from Brightheart.

Brightheart stood up taller. There was no way this tom would make her feel inferior. "She-cats think differently than you toms. Honestly, she-cats want to talk about their feelings and such. Plus Ivypaw is only an apprentice. She-cats are very unsure about themselves at that age."

Hawkfrost rolled his eyes. "What kind of mouse-brained thing are you spouting now? Whatever. I'm not going to listen to this." He turned to leave so he didn't catch the glint in Brightheart's eye. He felt it though as Brightheart's paw smashed against the side of his head. Her claws were unsheathed and they tore at Hawkfrost's fur.

Hawkfrost whirled around, blazing in anger. He was ready to tear Brightheart apart and she just found it to be amusing.

"Your father said to not touch me remember?" she reminded him in a motherly way. "He said to let me be."

Hawkfrost hissed and walked away. Brightheart watched him go with pure amusement on her face. Messing with him was just too good to resist. She returned her attention in the direction of Ivypaw, in the direction of her plan. All she had to do now was bide her time.

Ivypaw

Ivypaw opened her eyes to Dovepaw's poking. "What is it?" she snapped angrily.

"Cinderheart is taking you out on the dawn hunting patrol with Lionblaze, me and Rosepetal," said Dovepaw quietly. She shifted to the side so Ivypaw could get up.

Ivypaw ignored her sister and stormed out. The patrol was waiting by the camp entrance and she hurried over to join them. By the sound of pawsteps behind her, Dovepaw was following her.

"Let's get going," said Lionblaze, taking the lead. Dovepaw ran up to her mentor and the two seemed to be discussing something while the three she-cats were in the back.

"Ummm," spoke up Ivypaw to Cinderheart. Rosepetal was behind them checking out some scents.

"What is it?" asked Cinderheart, looking down at her apprentice.

Ivypaw didn't know why but her mentor's eyes seemed to have the wisdom of an older cat behind them. How come she didn't notice that before? Wait. No time to be thinking about that. "I have a question," she began. "Ummm…"

"What is it?" repeated Cinderheart. "You can ask me."

"Brightheart," said Ivypaw.

As soon as the name passed Ivypaw's mouth ,Cinderheart tensed. The gray tabby averted her eyes from Ivypaw.

"Cinderheart?"

"I don't know where you heard that name," said Cinderheart, her voice painfully level. "But it would be best if you forget it."

Ivypaw watched in confusion as Cinderheart quickened her pace until Ivypaw had to almost run to keep up. What did this mean? Not even Tigerstar's name was banned like this she-cat's. Ivypaw felt her admiration for this scarred she-cat grow. She must have done a lot for her clan and was then cast out because they thought she was different than them. Maybe it was that scarred face. Ivypaw wondered if Brightheart would one day tell her what happened. Until then, she knew she would follow this she-cat's training.


	5. Brightheart's Plea

**Chapter 3.**

Brightheart sighed as she slowly made her way back to StarClan. As she entered the sacred ground she almost tripped over Bumblepaw who was sleeping right by the way in.

"He's been sitting there, waiting for you," spoke Frostfur as she padded over to her daughter. After greeting Brightheart with a lick she stepped back, making sure not to trip over Bumblepaw. "He's really attached to you."

"I know," replied Brightheart. She looked proudly down at her apprentice. The only one she could truly say was her apprentice. Jayfeather didn't care about his training. She knew he didn't like being paired up with her as much as she did. "Frostfur," she whispered. She looked up at her mother, pleas clear.

Frostfur's stiffened and then relaxed as she understood her daughter's plea. She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry but we cannot do that."

"Why not!" cried Brightheart. She flinched as Bumblepaw shifted but didn't awaken. Lower in tone she asked "Why? You were able to do it for Cinderpelt. You gave her a second chance! She got a second chance. Why can't Bumblepaw? He deserves it. He…" She closed her eyes as her body shook. "He did so much for me. He believed in me. He was attacked by that monster for crying out loud! He deserves it!"

"Brightheart?"

Brightheart looked down at her apprentice. Bumblepaw scrambled to his paws. "I'm happy you're back. How did it go?" His amber eyes shone in excitement. An excitement that would do him well if he was alive.

_"He would have been a proud happy warrior,"_ Brightheart thought sorrowfully. _"His happy nature would help ThunderClan in troubled times and he would have been a great mentor for his apprentices."_

"Brightheart?" asked Bumblepaw. He blinked in confusion.

"It went fine," she replied quickly. "I mean, she listened to what I said. But I hate not knowing what that monster is doing. All we can do is rely on her for information."

"Good," replied Frostfur. "It looks like the plan is working then."

"I know, but…" Brightheart looked away. "I hate using her like this."

Frostfur placed her tail on Brightheart's shoulder. "You-We have no choice." The Starclanner turned to Bumblepaw. "Go and tell the others," she instructed. "We'll catch up to you soon."

"Okay!" said Bumblepaw. He twisted around and ran off into the trees of StarClan, leaving the mother and daughter alone.

"I wish we could return him to the living," said Frostfur quietly. "But Cinderpelt was different than most. She has a destiny. One that must happen."

"What about Bumblepaw?" cried Brightheart. "Didn't he have a destiny? Didn't he have someplace he was going to reach to? Didn't he?" She took a step away from her mother. Her tail flicked in frustration. "Wasn't he going to have a mate? His own kits? Wasn't he? I ruined his life. Frostfur. You don't understand. If I…If I had just controlled my emotions enough…if I had just…"

Brightheart was shaking violently now. Frostfur ran to her daughter's side and pressed her fur against hers. "It's alright," whispered Frostfur as she licked her daughter to calm her down.

"It's not alright," said Brightheart. "If I had controlled my emotions then…then _she_ would not exist. Everycat that died because of me will still be alive. They will all be alive…"

Frostfur didn't say anything. What could she say? She just sat there, comforting her daughter until Brightheart calmed down.

Ivypaw

Ivypaw ducked under the white paw before launching herself upwards by using the force of her back paws. The surprise attack combined with her weight pushed Icecloud over. Ivypaw stood on the she-cat and touched the she-cat's neck to signal the end of the mock battle.

"Good job," purred Cinderheart as Ivypaw climbed off the older warrior.

"Yes.I agree," said Icecloud as she scrambled back to her paws. "You were so fast Ivypaw! I could barely see you!"

"You will be a warrior in no time," agreed Cinderheart.

Ivypaw beamed in the praise. It was only three days after she had first met Brightheart and every night they trained together. And unlike with Hawkfrost, she wasn't tired the next morning. In fact, it seemed like she had even more energy than she had when going to sleep.

Dovepaw wasn't the only special one. She even thought she saw Bramblestar giving her a second look the other day. It was all because of Brightheart. It was because of the warrior she was able to see slight differences in her enemies. She could see when the enemy would attack.

"You can return to camp now," said Cinderheart. "You deserve it after that battle performance."

Ivypaw dipped her head to Cinderheart before trotting happily back to camp by herself.

"You did well out there."

She turned to her left to see Foxleap walking next to her. "I saw how you beat my sister. You are very skilled in battles."

Ivypaw looked away, her fur turning hot. Weird. She had never felt like this around Foxleap before. She wondered what the feeling was. "Uh, thank you," she said quietly.

"Hey, just think of it like this," said Foxleap. "If you keep this up, you might even become leader someday."

"No way," she said. "I can never become leader." Bramblestar looked young in her eyes. He wouldn't die soon. And neither would Brackenfur or anyone in the clan. But she did let her thoughts linger on thought. Ivystar. It had a nice ring to it.

Foxleap chuckled. "Well-"

"Foxleap! Get back here!"

Foxleap winced. "Whoops. Looks like Thornclaw found me. He's going to want me back on the hunting patrol. Bye Ivypaw!" He gave her a quick lick on the head before running in the direction of Thornclaw's voice.

Ivypaw had stopped in her steps when Foxleap had licked her. What did this mean? He was on a hunting patrol but he took the time to talk to her with risk to himself getting in trouble with Thornclaw. _"Could he…like me?"_ Ivypaw shook her head. No way. That was impossible.

Or was it?

"No Ivypaw," she said to herself. "Don't think about it." She increased her pace as she ran back to camp. For some odd reason she thought she could hear laughter echoing in her head. However it was very faint. So faint Ivypaw pushed it out of mind.


	6. Odd Emotions

**Chapter 4.**

The shadows danced as Brightheart made her way over to the clearing. Even from a distance she could hear the screech of a tom. Looked like Tigerstar or Hawkfrost was training someone again. Brightheart wondered why they couldn't do it quietly. It was very annoying to hear screams of pain when she was trying to sleep.

"Okay, whose dying now?" she asked in exasperation as she entered the clearing.

Tigerstar padded over to her while Hawkfrost continued to speak to a black tom. The tom was bleeding heavily from many claw wounds but he still seemed to be listening to what Hawkfrost was saying. Kudos to him.

"You know," said Brightheart. "You are going to loose cats if you almost kill them every time you train."

Tigerstar didn't reply but his ears did flick slightly. "Why did you decide to take over Ivypaw's training?"

Brightheart eyed the tom. "No reason," she said before shifting her eye to watch Hawkfrost fight the black tom again. "I just thought since you two have been training Breezepelt and Tigerheart, I should help out a bit with my own clan you know?"

"Your clan?" repeated Tigerstar slowly.

"You know what I mean," she replied. He didn't scare her. Him or his son. His plan to overthrow StarClan was mouse-brained. But she needed him. For now she needed both of them. "Anyway. I just came over here to see what all that noise was."

"Where are you going?" asked Tigerstar as Brightheart got up to leave. A hint of warning underlined his question.

"Just taking care of a few things," replied Brightheart. She turned her head to the tom. "Don't worry. I'm not going to ruin your plan in any way."

"You better not."

Brightheart didn't reply to Tigerstar's comment. Instead she continued on her way.

Ivypaw

"Hey Ivypaw."

Ivypaw looked up from the mouse she was eating. Briarlight stood over her, her back legs hanging limply on the ground. Ivypaw swallowed. "Hi Briarlight."

"Can I eat with you?" she asked.

"Sure," replied Ivypaw.

"Great," Briarlight purred happily. She used her front legs to drag herself over to the fresh-kill pile. As Ivypaw watched Briarlight choose a piece of fresh-kill she felt a severe hatred for the dark brown she-cat.

Ivypaw blinked and shook her head. Where did that come from? She liked Briarlight. She thought Briarlight was brave for trying to live on even after her accident. Why should she feel hatred to a cat she admired?

Briarlight settled down next to Ivypaw. She put the rabbit down. "So? How's your training coming along?" she asked. "I heard about how you beat Icecloud."

Ivypaw could barely hear what Briarlight was saying. Just by being next to Briarlight seemed to evoke the rage. The hatred. It seemed to swell up within Ivypaw until she could hardly breathe.

Why?

Why was this happening? What was going on?

"Ivypaw?"

Ivypaw turned to Briarlight. The she-cat was watching Ivypaw with concern. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Ivypaw opened her mouth but closed it when her eyes met Briarlight. Rage boiled up inside of her. She wanted…she wanted to feel Briarlight's blood run through her paws.

Horrified by her thoughts, Ivypaw jumped to her paws.

"Ivypaw?"

Ivypaw sucked in deep breaths. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "There's just something I remembered I have to do."

She knew Briarlight was watching her in confusion but Ivypaw couldn't stay near the she-cat anymore. Her emotions weren't hers. She didn't know what would happen to Briarlight if she stayed there.

Ivypaw ran out of camp and almost collided into Dovepaw who was just about to walk in.

"Oh!" exclaimed Dovepaw. "Ivypaw. Huh? What's wrong?"

Ivypaw couldn't speak. As she looked at her sister, the rage and anger seemed to rise up again. It was weaker than what she felt with Briarlight but it was still there. It was burning through her.

Ivypaw pushed past her sister and raced into the forest. She could hear Dovepaw call after her but she had to ignore the voice. She ran and ran until she could feel her legs were about to fall off.

She collapsed on the ground, her chest moving up and down to give her enough air. "What's wrong with me?" she whispered up to the trees. "I don't get why I wanted to kill Briarlight like that."

After she caught her breath she got back to her paws. Briarlight was probably wondering what the heck was wrong with her.

"Ivypaw?"

She flinched and turned in the direction of the voice. "Foxleap," she said slowly.

"Yes. It's me," purred the tom as he walked over to her.

Ivypaw backed up a step. She was ready to run away again if the emotions welled up again but they didn't. Strangely, they were quiet. Why? Why didn't she feel the odd emotions? Was it just a fluke?

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Ivypaw shook her head. "Nothing. I was just on my way back to camp."

"Well then, why don't I go with you?" he offered.

Before Ivypaw could offer, he was next to her, his tail lightly on her shoulder as he led them back to camp. Ivypaw didn't know what to say but she allowed him to lead. She looked up at him before her. His broad shoulders reminded her so much of another cat. Dustpelt. His frame was that of his father's.

She blinked. Why did she think of Dustpelt? What did he have to do with anything?

"What's wrong?" asked Foxleap. He looked back at her.

"You kind of look like your dad," she blurted out. Her fur grew hot and she looked away.

"Huh," said Foxleap. "I never heard that one before. My fur color is different from his."

"Just forget I said anything," replied Ivypaw quickly. Great. Why was she saying every weird thing that popped into her head?

Foxleap chuckled. "Alright then."

They continued on to camp in silence. But it was a nice silence. Ivypaw felt safe around Foxleap. She felt like nothing could go wrong. But what could go wrong? Her life was great. Except for those weird emotions everything was currently going her way. She chuckled slightly to herself. Maybe she would beat her sister at getting a mate. Foxleap seemed to like her a lot.

Wait.

What was she saying? She couldn't think about that! She was too young! She needed to finish her warrior training. However even with those thoughts in mind, she followed him back to camp.


	7. The History of a Hero

**Chapter 5.**

Ivypaw ducked under Brightheart's paw before darting forward and attacking with her own, coming in from the side that Brightheart could see out of. The older she-cat pulled back before reaching forward again and she smacked Ivypaw's face with a paw. The silver and white tabby crashed into the soft grass.

"Good," spoke Brightheart as Ivypaw scrambled back to her paws and shook off the dirt sticking on her fur. "You finally understand that going for the weak spot of a cat is not usually the best thing to do in battle."

"Of course," replied Ivypaw proudly. "You told me that cats are expecting that. They're expecting to be attacked where their weakness is. That's why you unnerve them by attacking elsewhere."

Brightheart nodded. "Correct. Most cats don't understand that. But you're different."

Ivypaw was proud. She understood where her mentor was coming from. This was much different than training with Hawkfrost. He just kept pushing and pushing her without much praise. She needed to get better. She had to become stronger. Brightheart took it much slower. She took the time to explain everything and she wasn't shy with the praise but she only gave it when Ivypaw deserved it. She was the perfect mentor. Even Cinderheart, as good of a cat she was, could never match up to Brightheart's teachings.

"Ummm," began Ivypaw. Brightheart paused from her grooming of her flank fur to look up at Ivypaw with her single eye. From the angle it looked like Brightheart was looking up at her with a cruel expression. It was gone in seconds when Brightheart lifted her head.

"Yes?"

Ivypaw gulped. "I…I just want to know more about you." She flattened her ears and lowered her head in a submissive gesture. "I mean…" She shuffled her paws back and forth. "You're such an awesome cat." She lifted her head, her eyes betraying the variety of emotions she felt. Awe. Wonder. Happiness. Curiosity. "I want to know more about you."

Brightheart paused. At first she looked like she was going to refuse and Ivypaw's heart fell but the she-cat renewed Ivypaw's hope. "The gathering is soon right? Or is my timing off?"

Ivypaw was confused by the question but she answered truthfully. "It's actually today. I'm just taking a nap at the moment because I was tired." That was a lie. She had wanted to learn more from Brightheart so she had just made an excuse and went to sleep. Plus it was very hot outside and she didn't really want to do anything.

Brightheart nodded. "Alright. Try to go to it. When you get there, talk to one of the older RiverClan cats. Ask them about me and tell them I sent you to them…and that I'm happy that they are alright after the battle against ThunderClan. Tell them that I'm proud of them for doing what they did. Then you'll get the story of who I am."

"Alright," said Ivypaw happily. She began to feel the slight tug on her fur. It was telling her it was time for her to return to the awakened realm.

"Go," said Brightheart. Ivypaw's mentor gestured with her tail in the direction Ivypaw had to run to return to the world of the living.

Ivypaw dipped her head to her mentor before running back to the land of the living.

Linelinelineline

"Ivypaw?"

Ivypaw opened her eyes and saw her sister looking down at her. "What is it?" she grumbled as she got to her paws.

"We're going to the gathering," replied Dovepaw. She gestured to the camp entrance. Bramblestar, Brackenfur, Jayfeather, Birchfall, Toadstep and Sorreltail. Hazeltail was joining the group with Rosepetal on her heels.

Ivypaw felt rage boil within her as she watched Rosepetal converse with the older warriors. The she-cat hadn't been nice to her at all. She was snappy and thought everything should go her way and be perfect for her. Ivypaw wanted to kill her. She wanted Rosepetal's blood to spill on the ground and soak into the dirt. She wanted Rosepetal to feel more pain than what she had given Ivypaw. She wanted-

"Ivypaw?"

The spell was broken. The rage was gone and only confusion was left. Why did she feel that kind of emotion? Sure she didn't like Rosepetal but she didn't want to kill her for it!

"Ivypaw. We have to go," said Dovepaw.

"Right," said Ivypaw. How could she forget? She had to go before Bramblestar changed his mind because she was taking too long. She had to know about Brightheart.

"Finally," snapped Rosepetal as the two apprentices approached.

Ivypaw glared at the dark cream she-cat. She may be a warrior but she was nothing compared to Brightheart. Thinking of that made Ivypaw feel better as the group headed out into the forest.

"I wonder if the other journey cats will be there," said Dovepaw excitedly. "I can't wait to see how Tigerheart, Sedgewhisker and the others are doing."

Ivypaw let her babble. Her thoughts were on what she would learn tonight. She wondered what Brightheart was like when she was alive.

"Ivypaw? You seem very distant."

Ivypaw looked at her sister in annoyance. "I'm thinking," she replied curtly. "There are many things on my mind."

"Want to talk about anything?" Dovepaw asked hopefully.

Ivypaw shook her head. "No."

The two sisters walked on in silence, the full moon slowly rising in the sky. They reached the wooden bridge without an incident and Ivypaw hurried to be one of the first on the bridge. The slippery bark was nothing for her. It would not hold her back from the information she would receive.

Once on the other side she hurried into the clearing. Thank StarClan. RiverClan was already here. The leader Volestar was sitting on a branch. He looked down at the arriving ThunderClanners in displeasure but he didn't say anything. His deputy, Graymist was seated below him. Across from them Onestar of WindClan along with his deputy Ashfoot. It looked like ShadowClan were not here yet.

That was better for Ivypaw. She would have more time to ask. She scanned the group of RiverClan warriors and apprentices. She unfortunately didn't know many of them but she did recognize Icewing and if she remembered correctly, the she-cat was a senior warrior.

Well, there was no time like the present. Ivypaw walked over to Icewing and she was suddenly hit by a wave of excitement. "Ummm."

Icewing looked down at her in annoyance. It was like the she-cat couldn't waste her time with a ThunderClan apprentice. "Yes?" she asked. Her tone made it clear she wanted it to be quick and to the point.

Ivypaw swallowed. "Brightheart."

Icewing was no longer annoyed. Now she looked furious. "What about her?" she sneered "Here to gloat about your victory? Well you're too late. Your clan made that quite clear before."

Ivypaw was shocked. What? What was Icewing talking about? "Gloat? What are you talking about? She…Brightheart told me to ask you about her."

Icewing rolled her eyes. "What are you talking about?" She laughed without humor.

"It's true!" cried Ivypaw. What was going on? Why did Icewing think she was lying. "Brightheart told me to talk to you. She told me to ask if you were alright after the battle against ThunderClan and that she's proud of you for what you did."

The anger seemed to deflate out of Icewing. Now she was watching Ivypaw with interest. "How?"

"Dreams. She comes and visits me in dreams. She told me to ask an older warrior in RiverClan about her." Ivypaw sighed in relief. It looked like Icewing believed her.

Icewing chuckled slightly. "Of course. She was doing StarClan's work after all." Noticing how confused Ivypaw was the older she-cat continued. "Brightheart was a brave warrior. ThunderClan was corrupt with all the kittypets running around. She…" Icewing shook her head. It wasn't a shake of no but one of remembrance. "She did so much. She warned us about a cat with the drooling sickness and when our deputy Mistyfoot was killed by the cat on a WindClan raid, she avenged Mistyfoot's death. She saved the clans from the tyranny of Firestar at the sacrifice of her own life." She made a tsk sound. "And ThunderClan is too blind to see it."

Ivypaw's eyes widen. Brightheart had risked her own life? But wait. "But Firestar was a good leader," she protested. She flinched as Icewing glared at her. "That's what I was taught," she said quickly.

"Of course," said Icewing. "ThunderClan cats are raised like that. They think Firestar is a hero and still is."

"What's the truth?" asked Ivypaw. She had to know. She had to understand her mentor.

"Firestar used to be a great leader. He saved the clans from Tigerstar and BloodClan and helped get us to the lake but after that, after that he became some cat that didn't respect the warrior code. He went onto the other territories with no regard for the borders; he meddled in affairs that he shouldn't get involved in. He was nothing but a pathetic cat in the end. I hope Brightheart tore him apart." As if she remembered where she was, Icewing calmed down and looked down at Ivypaw. "That's it."

"Let's begin the gathering!"

Ivypaw looked forward again. Blackstar was here and the gathering had begun. She hadn't even noticed that ShadowClan had arrived. She wanted to talk more to Icewing about Brightheart.

However she couldn't. She didn't want Brightheart mad at her for messing up a gathering. But she couldn't listen. Her thoughts were on Firestar. How could ThunderClan lie about something like this? Ivypaw had heard stories how Bluestar had went crazy near the end of her leadership. Maybe the same happened to Firestar. But why wasn't it known then? Why?

"Ivypaw."

Ivypaw blinked and looked up. Icewing had put her tail on the younger she-cat's shoulder. "You must be special to be trained by such a good cat. Keep up your training. Don't ever give up." Icewing retreated her tail and then asked, "Does Brightheart have a message for Volestar? Should I tell him anything?"

"I don't know," said Ivypaw truthfully. "That's all she told me to tell you."

Icewing nodded. "Alright. I'll figure it out. Good luck."

"Thanks," said Ivypaw as Icewing joined her clanmates as they left for their own camp.

"What were you two talking about?" asked Dovepaw, walking over.

Ivypaw looked at her sister and she didn't feel like snapping at her. She was too happy. She had found out the kind of cat Brightheart was. "Nothing important," she said coolly as she watched Icewing cross the bridge. "Nothing important at all."


	8. The Plans of the Brighthearts

**Chapter 6. A kind of prologue chapter to what's going to come in the next one…**

Brightheart

Brightheart stepped on the soft springy grass of StarClan. The gentle wind buffed her fur, making the stars on her pelt dance. This was weird. It was odd to be a cat of StarClan. Well she thought so. She shook her head. She couldn't think about that. There was no point in thinking about that. There were more important things to be discussed.

"Good. You're back," spoke Firestar as Brightheart walked into the clearing. The orange tom was flanked on his left by Frostfur, on his right Swiftpaw. Bumblepaw was right behind Brightheart. Like always he was waiting for her to return after her trip to the living world. It was the usual group but with a few extra cats that surprised Brightheart. Squirrelflight and Leafpool.

Brightheart looked away. She had not seen the sisters at all in StarClan. She felt horribly guilty for removing them from their lives.

"Come Brightheart," spoke Frostfur gently, as she sensed her daughter's discomfort. "It is alright. We have much to discuss."

Brightheart swallowed slowly. Right. The past was behind her now. They needed to focus on the task at paw. She took a couple more steps until she was in the circle along with the others. Bumblepaw, like always sat on her right. He probably thought he needed to be her eye on that side even though now she could see.

"Spottedleaf, Yellowfang and Bluestar are currently trying to figure out what the Dark Forest is up to," spoke Firestar. "They believe the Dark Forest is planning an uprising."

Brightheart flinched. The other her was in the Dark Forest . StarClan had unintentionally added timber to the fire. They had given the Dark Forest another maniac cat.

"The uprising is thought to be led by Tigerstar," continued Firestar. His tail flicked anxiously behind him. Brightheart wondered if the tom thought his old enemy would never bother him again in StarClan. "We, as a group are focused on the other Brightheart. We think that she will try to continue her goal in much the same way Tigerstar is. Because of this, Brightheart has been speaking to a cat and training her."

"Why don't we just tell Jayfeather?" interrupted Leafpool. "Or Bramblestar," she added quickly. "Warn them."

"It would not be in our best interest to speak to a cat of ThunderClan about this," replied Frostfur. "We don't know if the other Brightheart has made contact and even if she did we don't know which cat she chose."

"But isn't it easier to talk to somecat if you're related by blood?" asked Squirrelflight.

"Usually," said Frostfur. "But we aren't sure."

Brightheart felt horrible. It was her fault this had happened. It was her fault that StarClan wasn't sure what to do. This was the first time StarClan had to deal with a cat that never truly had a body to begin with. A cat with two different cats within her. StarClan wasn't sure about anything.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" yowled Squirrelflight angrily. She stepped forward and in the light of StarClan she looked like her father. "Cats are going to die again." Her eyes swept the small group of cats. "Cats will die. No doubt about that. Cats will die in horrible ways."

Brightheart flinched. She knew Squirrelflight was talking about herself. How she was forced to eat foxglove until she died. She was sorry. She would beg to Squirrelflight to forgive her but she knew Squirrelflight would never accept it.

"And what are we doing here?" continued Squirrelflight. "Sitting around while Brightheart here gets a cat ready to fight even though we don't know if that other Brightheart will even attack in the first place! We can't leave this information to ourselves. We have to tell somecat! We have to do something that doesn't involve us relying on a cat that we don't know-"

"STOP IT!" yowled Bumblepaw.

Squirrelflight fell silent in shock and the group turned to the apprentice.

"I know it looks bad," he said. "I know we don't know anything. But Brightheart is a good cat! She didn't want any of this to happen. It was just…it was just something that happened!"

"What are you talking about?" snapped Leafpool, stepping up next to her sister. "All of this wouldn't have happened if she had just controlled her emotions!"

"We aren't all perfect!" Bumblepaw shot back. "We all have things we want to keep hidden."

"Bumblepaw…" began Brightheart.

"And in case you forgotten," continued Bumblepaw, "Who is it that ran away with a cat from another clan, had kits with him, gave the kits up for your sister to raise and then when they found out the truth that they were not your kits Squirrelflight, they shunned you. You know what I think? I think deep inside, your kits were happy that you died! Even though they don't know who their parents are I think they wouldn't have accepted you. They would have thought of you as a pathetic coward who-"

"SILENCE!" roared Firestar.

Bumblepaw was shaking with rage but he obeyed the leader. Leafpool looked distraught and she was shaking with emotions. Squirrelflight murmured into Leafpool's ears to calm her down.

"That's all for today," said Firestar quietly. "We'll talk soon."

"Let's go Leafpool," whispered Squirrelflight. The she-cat shot Bumblepaw and Brightheart a death glare before leaving. Firestar sighed and walked behind his daughters.

Frostfur approached Bumblepaw and Brightheart. Both were looked down in misery. "Maybe it was too soon for you to talk to them," she said softly. "Firestar and I thought it would be in our best interest to work together with cats that were…killed by the other Brightheart. They would be more oriented in stopping her. We just didn't think they would take out their anger on you."

"I know," replied Brightheart. She looked sadly onto the springy grass. "I know they wouldn't forgive me. I can't forgive myself."

"Brightheart," Bumblepaw leaned on the she-cat but she pushed away from him. He looked up at her with hurt amber eyes. "Brightheart?"

"I need to be alone," she whispered before running away from her mother and apprentice.

Brightheart

"And then she said you were a hero!"

Brightheart purred happily as Ivypaw finished her story of Brightheart's history told by Icewing. Looks like RiverClan made her seem like a hero. That was a good. Very good.

"I can't believe you are such an awesome cat!" yowled Ivypaw. She bouncing a bit in excitement. She reminded Brightheart of a kit. A young impressionable kit. That's exactly what she was. What a perfect cat she had chosen.

"Of course," replied Brightheart smoothly. "I did a lot for my clan." She lowered her tail and made herself look small and weak. "But ThunderClan wouldn't accept me for doing all they did. They killed me and now want nothing to do with me. They wished that I never existed!"

Ivypaw's eyes widen and she approached her mentor. "I'm sorry ThunderClan did such a horrible thing to you."

Brightheart shook her head and placed her tail on the young apprentice's shoulder. "Don't worry about me. I am no longer in the land of the living. All I can do now is train someone who can carry on my legacy." She almost laughed when she saw the happiness blooming in Ivypaw's eyes. What a cat. "Anyway. Let's not train today. You're probably tired."

"No," said Ivypaw quickly. "I'm fine. We can train. I want to train!"

"You need to understand the concept of rest," replied Brightheart sternly. "Now go and have some good dreams. We'll begin again tomorrow."

"Alright," sighed Ivypaw before walking out of the field.

Brightheart watched her go. She didn't move until she could no longer see Ivypaw's tail tip in the distance. "Finally," she said and relaxed. It was time. It was time for the test and Brightheart knew exactly which cat she would use.


	9. And So It Begins

**So, here's the next chapter. The real story begins now!**

Ivypaw opened her eyes. She looked around for a few moments to get her bearing. The apprentice den. Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the bramble. It was empty except for a pale gray she-cat sleeping in one of the corner moss beds. Dovepaw.

Ivypaw got to her paws and stretched before leaving. Outside, the camp was quiet. Only the early morning patrols were out and about. The silver and white tabby she-cat looked around but there was no one up in the camp at the moment. Silently she made her way over to Jayfeather's den and slipped inside. The smell of herbs brought back memories but they faded away as her eyes focused down on the dark brown she-cat that was asleep by the entrance.

"Hey," Ivypaw whispered as she prodded Briarlight. She looked up fearfully and tasted the air. Jayfeather wasn't here. He was probably out on some morning herb gathering or something like that.

"Ivypaw?" Briarlight's golden eyes looked up at Ivypaw in confusion. She shifted up and coughed. She breathed deeply for a few moments before speaking again, "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"I want to talk," said Ivypaw. She looked away and shuffled her paws. "Can we go out of camp? I feel confined here."

"Sure," agreed Briarlight. She lifted up on her front legs and began dragging her body out of the den. Ivypaw took a quick look around Jayfeather's den before following her. The two cats silently made their way across camp. Getting out was a bit difficult for Briarlight but she managed it well enough without making too much noise.

Once outside, Ivypaw took the lead and she took BriarLight on a not-used path. She was actually making a wide circle around the camp for a bit and then began moving away until the camp was out of hearing range. While she was waiting for Briarlight to catch up Ivypaw scented the air. No cats around. Good. The hunting patrols would stick to areas with plenty of prey and the border patrols would stay by the borders. She had enough time.

"What is it you want to talk about?" asked Briarlight. The she-cat was panting heavily and she coughed forcefully.

Ivypaw didn't make any move to help. Instead she plucked blades of grass with her teeth and began rolling the grass into a ball while making sure that twigs were in it as well. She waited until Briarlight was done coughing until she started talking. "I admire you, you know?" she began. "You are quite brave for surviving this long. I applaud you for that."

"Thank you," said Briarlight. Her eyes twinkled with determination. "I knew I could not let this stop me from continuing to live. I was given a second chance unlike Longtail and I will take this chance to live on."

Ivypaw nodded slowly. "Yes. Unfortunately that is what happened." Without looking down, her paw was making the grass and twig ball bigger.

Briarlight was confused. "Everyone wants to live," she said. "My parents were heartbroken when my brother died as an apprentice. I want to live on for him and for Longtail. I don't want to make them suffer anymore." She took in a shaky breath. "Although I don't know how long I'll last like this."

"I wonder too," replied Ivypaw. She shifted closer to Briarlight, the ball rolling in her paws.

"Anyway. What was it you wanted to talk to me about? Tom trouble?" Briarlight chuckled. "I can't help you much with that."

"No," said Ivypaw softly. She unsheathed her claws and dug the grass ball into it. "It's not that."

"Then what is it? I can't help you if you won't talk to-"

Briarlight didn't get to finish for Ivypaw had pounced. Her paw shot out and she shoved the grass ball into Briarlight's mouth before shifting to the she-cat's back, pinning the crippled she-cat to the ground.

Briarlight struggled to speak but the twigs dug into her mouth and she let off a whimper of pain. Ivypaw hissed angrily as Briarlight struggled under her. She had forgotten about the weight difference. But this body was strong. It was trained for this.

Ivypaw reached down and grabbed one of Briarlight's legs with her teeth and yanked back until Briarlight stopped struggling because of the pain. She shifted until her full weight was on the pushed back leg. "Now now," she sneered. "Please be a quiet cat alright? You don't want me to push a bit more or…" She pushed the leg farther in the direction it wasn't supposed to go and Briarlight froze. The she-cat's head was twisted back and she was looking up at Ivypaw with wide eyes.

_"Why?_" That was the question that her eyes asked.

Ivypaw laughed. "You wouldn't understand. You don't get it. You are just a pathetic cripple on her deathbed. I'm just helping the process along."

Briarlight's eyes seemed to get even wider but Ivypaw would not take the chance that she might think that she could escape. Ivypaw pushed and pushed until she felt the shoulder pop. Briarlight was releasing muffled yowls but Ivypaw ignored them as she did the same to Briarlight's other leg.

This was different. This young body could do more than her old one could. Now that Briarlight was no longer a threat, Ivypaw jumped off her back and looked down at the dark brown she-cat. She yawned. "Honestly, I thought you would put up more of a fight."

Briarlight yowled something but the gag muffled them. It didn't matter what Briarlight said anyway. She was nothing. She was just a cat that the clan didn't need.

"Hey. What's this?" Ivypaw spotted a good sized rock lying on the ground. Her eyes lit up with twisted joy. She retrieved it and held it in her jaw. Briarlight's eyes widen as Ivypaw dropped the rock on the she-cat's front toes. Tears ran up Briarlight's eyes and she was screaming but the gag muffled it all.

"You like this?" asked Ivypaw innocently as she picked up the rock again and dropped it on the same toes. This time she even put her own weight on it. Yowling in pleasure she did the same to Briarlight's other foot. She forgot how much fun this was! She forgot how much fun it was to be alive.

"Oh?" Ivypaw noticed that Briarlight was now still. A quick check revealed that she wasn't dead but unconscious. Alright. Time for the next part of her little plan. She grabbed Briarlight by the scruff and roughly dragged her towards the camp. Her ears were open to any sounds of cats coming but there was nothing. Of course, it was too early for that. She reached the edge of the camp and she released Briarlight to look down into it. They were by the nursery. Oh. This was going to be fun.

Knowing she didn't have much time, Ivypaw grabbed Briarlight's scruff and dragged her over to the edge until Briarlight's body was teetering on the edge.

"Have a nice trip into StarClan," she said happily as she skipped away


	10. She's The One

**I just finished Battle of the Clans and it's awesome! It'll help a lot with battle moves for the different clans. Especially RiverClan…-shifty eyes-**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. This chapter is dedicated to Crescent of Night who has made the first ever fanart for this story. Check it! I put the link in my profile.**

Ivypaw woke to the sound of a high pitched yowl of terror. She looked around in confusion. Was there an attack on the clan? She scrambled to her paws and ran outside, ready to defend her clan against the enemy.

Ivypaw blinked slowly. Wait. Where was the enemy? The camp was quiet except for a group of cats gathered around an area near the nursery. Poppyfrost was at the fringe and she was pulling Cherrykit and Molekit away.

"This is not for you to see kits," she said softly as Ivypaw joined the crowd.

"What's going on?" asked Ivypaw. 'What was that scream?"

Poppyfrost looked up at Ivypaw, her eyes filled with unspeakable sorrow. She shook her head and focused her attention on her kits who were trying to go back into the crowd. "No kits," she said. "Come over here. Over here."

Now Ivypaw was really confused. She pushed her way through the crowd. However unlike what usually happened, the clanmates were silent. They didn't seem to mind what she was doing. When Ivypaw finally made it to the front, her paws locked in place. Her eyes didn't really understand what was going on before her.

"Briarlight!" Millie pushed her way to the front of the crowd and collapsed next to the mangled body of her kit. She buried her face into her kit's fur. "Briarlight! Briarlight!"

"How could this have happened?" said Graystripe quietly as he walked up behind his mate. "Why? Why must my kits always go to StarClan?" He placed his tail on his mate's shoulder but he didn't collapse next to the sobbing Millie. He seemed too shocked to even do that. Blossomfall was there as well and she took the place next to her mother to sob for the loss of her sister.

"First Bumblepaw and now you," she cried. "Why? Why?"

This couldn't be happening! This couldn't be! Briarlight. She was getting better. How could she be dead now? Ivypaw thought the clan was a happy place. No one dies.

"It's said that Briarlight was tired of living," Ivypaw heard Thornclaw whisper to Brackenfur. "She didn't want to suffer anymore."

"But still," replied Brackenfur. "can she really be accepted into StarClan after taking her own life?"

Ivypaw couldn't believe this! She whirled around and faced the toms. "What are you talking about?" she yowled. "Briarlight would never kill herself. She…she wanted to live like all of us. She was fine. She was doing fine." Ivypaw spotted Jayfeather walking over with Bramblestar behind him.

The cats moved aside to let the leader and medicine cat through. Jayfeather went up to Briarlight's body and began to look her over by feeling with his paws. Bramblestar stood to the side, waiting patiently for Jayfeather to speak.

"Hey," said Dovepaw softly. She settled next to Ivypaw, her fur touching Ivypaw's. For once Ivypaw didn't mind it. In fact she needed the touch at that moment. It seemed so surreal. Briarlight couldn't be dead. Ivypaw had seen her the day before. She was alive.

After Jayfeather was done with his inspection he turned to the rest of the clan. His blind eyes seemed to look at everycat before speaking. "Briarlight…from my guess, took her own life."

"No!" yowled Millie in pure sorrow. "She couldn't have! She loved life!" The striped tabby got to her paws and was about to approach Jayfeather when Graystripe held her back. "She's not that kind of cat!" Millie's legs crumpled under her and she fell to the ground, her sorrow overriding everything else. "She isn't…"

Murmurs ran through the clan cats. This was the first time anycat could remember that a cat took their own life.

"Prepare her body for burial," said Bramblestar in a calm level voice to Mousefur and Purdy before walking away. Jayfeather silently followed him.

"I can't believe something like this could happen," said Dovepaw. "If only I saw it. Then I could have stopped it."

Ivypaw looked over at her sister in confusion. What did that mean? "How could you have seen it?"

Dovepaw flinched. "Oh. Just forget I said anything." She looked away.

That was confusing but Ivypaw pushed the thought away. She could barely stand here. She turned and headed for the camp exit. She knew it was cowardly but she needed some time to herself.

As soon as she was out of the tunnel she heard voices. Bramblestar and Jayfeather. She was about to walk away from the voices but Bramblestar's voice made her freeze.

"What do you mean it wasn't suicide?"

What?

"Most of the injuries made sense for the fall," replied Jayfeather. "Broken bones and such but her toes were crushed. Only her front paws though. That was odd. And both of her front legs were dislocated. It doesn't make much sense."

What was going on? What did Jayfeather mean? Ivypaw wanted to get up and ask him but that probably wasn't the best idea so she stayed put, her ears straining to hear every word.

"So, are you saying somecat did this?" asked Bramblestar.

"I hope not but that's what it looks like," replied Jayfeather. "Her injuries make no sense. I hope…I hope this isn't like the Brightheart incident."

Brightheart! Ivypaw's ears perked up at the name of her mentor.

Bramblestar released a loud sigh. "If it is," he said grimly. "We are in more trouble than we thought. It was a good idea then to say it was a sucide. Cats were a bit paranoid after Brightheart went crazy and killed Firestar. Let's just keep this between us for now."

"Can I tell the rest of the three?" asked Jayfeather.

The three? Who were they?

"Go ahead."

Ivypaw scrambled back into camp again. So the leader and medicine cat thought this was a murder? What did that mean? Ivypaw looked around. The camp was like it always was. But could there be a murderer in the shadows? Could one of her clanmates be responsible for this? And, her other question. Who were the three?

Brightheart

"I can't believe this!" cried Frostfur. She knocked her piece of fresh-kill away in anger.

The group of cats responsible for taking care of the other Brightheart were gathered. Well all but Bumblepaw who was assigned to bring Briarlight over to the group.

Brightheart looked down miserably at the rabbit at her paws. Firestar, Frostfur, Bumblepaw and her were going to start another meeting when Squirrelflight had informed them that Briarlight had been killed. And she said Briarlight wasn't killed by illness. Firestar immediately sent Bumblepaw to retrieve her.

"It's all my fault," said Brightheart. "If I was stronger then…"

"Don't say that," said Firestar firmly. "We'll know who the cat is when Briarlight gets here."

"That's if she remembers," said Frostfur. Noticing Brightheart's confused look she explained. "If it was too traumatic for the cat the memory is repressed for a while so the cat can accept their death. If that happens we are out of luck."

"I can't believe we didn't see it," said Firestar.

"I'm sorry," said Brightheart. "I should have thought of this. I mean she is me and I should know how she thinks."

Frostfur shook her head. She walked over to her kit and placed her tail on her kit's shoulder. "Don't worry," she said. "We'll find out who did this. We will." Her ears flicked. "Looks like they're here."

Brightheart turned around. Bumblepaw was chattering happily to a she-cat behind him. A she-cat who could walk on her own four paws. Briarlight. Brightheart was happy that she got her legs back in StarClan.

"Anyway," said Bumblepaw. "This is the group you're going to help Briarlight."

"Oh?" Briarlight turned her attention away from Bumblepaw to look at the group of cats. The happiness in her eyes drained and she began to shake.

"Briarlight?" Bumblepaw looked up at his sister in concern. "What's wrong?"

Brightheart took a step towards Briarlight. What was wrong with her?

"S..stay away from me!" screeched Briarlight. She backed up a few pawsteps.

"Briarlight? What are you talking about?" Bumblepaw scrambled in front of her. "This is Brightheart. But she's very nice. She-"

Briarlight pulled Bumblepaw close with her tail. "No. Stay away from her Bumblepaw. She's the one who killed me!"


	11. Events Set In Motion

**Chapter 9!**

Brightheart

Brightheart felt like she was going to collapse and cry. The look Briarlight was giving her was one of pure loathing. Briarlight didn't want to be in the same vicinity as Brightheart.

"No!" Bumblepaw escaped his sister's clutches and ran to Brightheart's side. "Brightheart is a good cat! She would never kill anyone!"

"But I saw that cat!" yowled Briarlight. Her eyes were wide in unspeakable terror.

"No," Firestar stepped forward, his voice gentle but firm. "She is not the cat that killed you. The one that killed you is another."

"Liar!" screamed Briarlight.

"Brightheart," whispered Frostfur. "You should probably go. We'll calm Briarlight down and explain what's going on."

"I'll go with Brightheart!" offered Bumblepaw.

Bumblepaw was being very sweet and Brightheart loved him for that but she knew she needed to be adult about this. She placed her tail on her apprentice's shoulder. "No. You need to stay here and calm your sister down. I'll go visit…" She ran through the list of deceased cats. There weren't many that wanted to see her. Many still hated for what happened. "Swiftpaw. I'll go visit Swiftpaw."

Bumblepaw's ears drooped. He suddenly looked very miserable. "Alright."

"Think of this as a mission from me," said Brightheart in an attempt to cheer him up.

"Okay!" purred Bumblepaw. He perked up immediately. Brightheart purred in amusement. "I'll do my best," he said.

Brightheart bid goodbye to her mother before slipping into the forest of StarClan. She moved quickly for it was not wise for her to be alone. Cats still resented her. No one would attack her but dealing with their hated looks was tiring. She passed by one of the many piles of fresh-kill that littered StarClan. Those never seemed to run out and cats would eat from them if they didn't feel like hunting. Unfortunately, the piles always had cats sitting by them and now they were staring at her. Even without looking she knew they were not just staring but talking about her. Talking about the cat who couldn't control her emotion and slathered many cats and was still allowed into StarClan.

Brightheart was about to break into a run when she spotted Swiftpaw near one of the piles. He was speaking to Goldenflower and a speckled gray tom with pale blue eyes. She took a deep breath and walked over. She knew the closer she got to the piles the more the other cats would talk about her.

"Brightheart," spoke Swiftpaw. He perked up as she approached. "How are you? How's Briarlight?"

Brightheart shook her head and settled down next to Swiftpaw. A quick look to the speckled gray tom showed that he didn't mind that Brightheart was there. Goldenflower didn't seem to mind much either. "Well," she began.

Linelineline

"Where were you?"

Brightheart looked over her shoulder. Tigerstar was staring at her intently with his amber eyes. "What ever do you mean?" she asked innocently before beginning to groom herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, Brightheart could see anger flash before Tigerstar's eyes. Let him be angry. It didn't matter to her. "Brightheart," spoke Tigerstar. "I let you take over Ivypaw's training. Don't make me remove you from that."

Brightheart paused in mid-lick and looked up at Tigerstar. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she replied lightly before resuming to her grooming.

Tigerstar's ears flicked. "Are you threatening me?"

Brightheart stopped grooming and stretched out her body. "I don't know. Am I?"

By the way Tigerstar's shoulders were set he was clearly annoyed by Brightheart's attitude. Good. He should be. Talking to her like this like he was above her. What arrogance this tom had. She would show him. She would show him and the Dark Forest what kind of a cat she was.

"Well I'm bored," Brightheart got to her paws. "I think I'll go find some fresh-kill and then go back and train Ivypaw." She walked away. As she walked, she could feel Tigerstar's eyes on her, watching her. Let him watch. It was all he could do.

Ivypaw

"Briarlight was a good warrior. She was very happy and could cheer any cat up with her attitude."

Ivypaw pressed closer to Dovepaw. The moon was slowly making its way overhead. The stars above twinkled as StarClan watched the burial ceremony. Briarlight's mangled body was below the Highledge and her clanamtes surrounded her from all sides.

"I can't believe this could happen," said Dovepaw again.

Ivypaw didn't speak. The lump hung in her throat and seemed to block off any words she tried to say. Her mind still was going over Bramblestar's and Jayfeather's conversation. Suicide. The three. What did it mean?

"May StarClan light her path," finished Bramblestar.

Millie, Blossomfall and Graystripe settled by Briarlight's body for the nightly vigil. To Ivypaw's surprise it seemed like a lot of other cats were staying up as well. Jayfeather, Cinderheart, Sandstorm and even Foxleap. When her eyes settled on Foxleap for some reason her mind ran to Dustpelt. She looked around and spotted him entering the warriors den with his mate. Anger ran up within her for the tortoiseshell.

She blinked in shock and looked away. _"It's happening again. Unexplainably anger. Why is this happening? It makes no sense for me to be angry with Ferncloud. She did nothing wrong."_

"Ivypaw?"

Ivypaw turned to her sister. Dovepaw was looking at her with concern. "I asked you if you were going to stay up for the Briarlight vigil."

"I am," replied Ivypaw quickly. Dovepaw nodded and the sisters walked over to the group of mourning cats. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jayfeather seemed to be watching her intently. Or was he staring at Dovepaw? Ivypaw turned her head and locked her eyes onto his blind ones. Jayfeather blinked slowly and looked away. What was that about?

Feeling a presence to her right side she saw Foxleap had settled down next to her. She looked up at him gratefully. On both sides she was being held up by cats that she cared about. Her fur grew hot. Did she care about Foxleap like that? Was it possible that they could-why was she thinking this? This was Briarlight's vigil. Ivypaw tossed those thoughts out of her head and focused her thoughts on vigil. Briarlight deserved that.


	12. RiverClan Visit

**Chapter 10. **

"What? Why would I do something like that?" asked Ivypaw.

It was another training session between her and her mentor. Brightheart was pacing back and forth restlessly. It looked like she was troubled by something and Ivypaw wanted to help her in any way she could. Brightheart deserved that after teaching Ivypaw all about fighting.

It was only a couple days after Briarlight's burial but clanlife had been gloomy and depressing. More and more Ivypaw had gone to sleep to escape the clanlife to learn from Brightheart. Learning from her was way better than dealing with the sorrow in the camp. Plus she continued to get better and better the more she spent here.

Brightheart on the other paw was enjoying the time Ivypaw spent in this realm. The more Ivypaw spend here, the more she could feel her presence growing. That was excellent. Her plan was working. Soon she would be out of Tigerstar's annoying domain. She would finish what she started in the clans, yes it would all happen. But she still needed more time. First plan first. She needed to get the backing of RiverClan again.

"Like I said," spoke Brightheart, "I need you to visit RiverClan to give them a message for me."

"But the gathering won't be for a while," said Ivypaw. "I can't just leave and go to RiverClan territory."

Brightheart struggled to rein in her emotions. She had to stay calm or risk losing everything by scaring Ivypaw away. "Ivypaw," she began. "You need to understand something. We won't be able to get anywhere unless you understand this. I need RiverClan to know that I'm looking out for them. I cannot do that without your help. I need you to deliver my message for me."

Ivypaw looked unsure but she nodded. "Okay, if it will make you happy. What's the message?"

Brightheart purred happily and she patted her tail on the young she-cat's head. "Good," she said. "And do not worry about the messeage. You will know what it is when you get there. Trust me on this one. Sneak out of the clan tonight and go straight to RiverClan. Be wary of ShadowClan though. They may be hunting about."

"Okay," said Ivypaw. She nodded and began the trip back to the living world.

Brightheart on the other hand sat on her haunches. She would have to wait here for a while longer.

Ivypaw

Ivypaw couldn't believe she was doing this! Getting out of camp was quite easy; she just used the small slope in the back of the dirtplace. Now she was running through the forest like she had badgers on her tail. She was surprised when her mentor had asked for this. It was even weirder that Brightheart didn't even give her the message.

She shook her head. She couldn't doubt her mentor! Brightheart knew what she was doing. Soon Ivypaw reached the border between ShadowClan and ThunderClan. She hesitated for only a moment before crossing. Brightheart would never steer her wrong!

Even though she was by the lake and in the neutral ground, she kept glancing over at the pine trees in fear. What would she do if a ShadowClan patrol caught her? How could she explain this? She picked up her pace even more. The sooner she was out of ShadowClan territory the better.

It was over faster than she had expected. One second she was on ShadowClan territory, the next she was on RiverClan. She looked back in disbelief. That was quick. Now feeling more confident, she crossed deeper into RiverClan territory. For some reason she had a feeling of where the camp was and she followed it.

She didn't see it at first but the hiss of a cat told her she must be right there.

"What are you doing here ThunderClanner?" A mottled gray tom stepped out of the shadows of one of the huge lush trees. Ivypaw thought his name was Pebblefoot or something like that.

"I…" Ivypaw took in a deep breath. She couldn't be nervous. She had a job to do! A job for her mentor. "I have brought a message from my mentor Brightheart."

Pebblefoot now looked curious instead of hostile. "From Brightheart? Oh. Then, are you Ivypaw?" Ivypaw nodded and Pebblefoot purred happily. "Icewing told the clan about you. About how you know the truth."

"Yes," agreed Ivypaw. "I know now that Firestar was weakening the clans with his kittypet heritage."

Pebblefoot purred again and gestured for Ivypaw to follow him. He took her to a row of rocks that lead to a small island-like area in between the two rivers. While he went into the water to swim, Ivypaw took the rocks. Surprisingly, Pebblefoot waited for her and pointed out which rocks would be good to step on and which ones would be very slippery. It felt weird for Ivypaw that Pebblefoot was so adamant for her to get to the camp.

The camp itself surprised Ivypaw. She thought it would be more…in water. It looked quite dry from Ivypaw's point of view and very quiet.

Pebblefoot led Ivypaw to a thicket patch and gestured for her to wait outside before going in. Ivypaw took the moment to look around. The different dens seemed to be in many thicket and bramble-like dens. Kind of like ThunderClan in a way.

"You can go in now," said Pebblefoot as he walked out.

Ivypaw nodded and stepped inside. The leader's den was simple and clean except for a moss bed that was currently inhabited by a small brown tabby, Volestar. "I am glad you were able to make it here without trouble," spoke Volestar and he dipped his head to Ivypaw.

The young she-cat's eyes widen. A cat that was much older than her was showing respect to her! "Ummm," she said. "You don't have to dip your head to me."

"You are Brightheart's apprentice," said Volestar as he lifted his head. "You are taught by the savior of the clans. You deserve respect. Now, what is the message Pebblefoot told me you would bring?"

"It's…" Ivypaw trailed off as her mind went blank. She felt sleepy. Very sleepy. She couldn't help it as he eyes slowly began to droop. _"No! I need to deliver the message!"_ However it was futile. Ivypaw drifted off to sleep.

"Ivypaw?"

Ivypaw's eyes opened again and she stretched. "Hello Voletooth. Or should I say Volestar? You are leader now correct?" She looked around the den. "Definitely leader. I remember being in here with Leopardstar."

Volestar's eyes widen. "Brightheart?"

The she-cat's dark blue eyes glinted in amusement. "Yes, Volestar. It's me. Been a while correct?"

"How?"

"This she-cat is my granddaughter. Taking over her body is not that difficult. It's much easier to take over cats of the same bloodline. Anyway. That is not why I'm here. Like Ivypaw told Pebblefoot, I'm here with a message. Well, more of a mission thing."

"What is it?" asked Volestar. "You know RiverClan will follow you no matter what."

"I know," replied Brightheart. The sweet gentle voice of Ivypaw now sounded sinister as Brightheart added her own touch to it. "Now. The problem we have is that it is not over. StarClan stills wants me to continue in my duty to save the clans. They are still being corrupted by outsiders as we speak. And…" Brightheart leaned forward. "Tigerstar is planning his own invasion. Like me, he's figured out how to speak to alive cats."

"But what can we do?" asked Volestar. He looked really nervous now. Good.

"I'm figuring out a plan," replied Brightheart. "Do you have any queens at the moment?"

"Queens?" asked Volestar in surprise. He composed himself and replied, "Yes. Duskfur and Mosspelt but both are expecting kits at the moment. Why?"

Brightheart shook her head. "Don't worry about it. That is something that I'm going to have to take care of on my end. But in four moons, I want you to have two cats patrolling the Shadow-River border at night."

"Alright," said Volestar. "But may I ask why?"

Brightheart shook her head, "Better you don't know. But, I do know this. What I will do will help the clans survive. Now I should probably head back to ThunderClan before I am missed."

"I'll have somecat escort you to the border," offered Volestar.

Brightheart knew it was out of courtesy to her and not to guard her so she agreed. Before she let though she looked back. "Volestar. I want you to have somecat watching over Willowshine wherever she goes. I fear that she has been one of the cats that Tigerstar has in his possession. Be careful and watch her."

"Alright," said Volestar. "But what about her medicine cat duties?"

"Let her continue that," replied Brightheart, "Have Mothwing close by as well." She wished she could get rid of Mothwing. That half-clan cat was useless to her. However she needed Mothwing for now. That was the only reason why the dappled golden she-cat was still alive. Brightheart closed her eyes. Whatever. She released her hold on Ivypaw and returned to the Dark Forest.


	13. Begining of her Plan

**Sorry for the long wait! Life has been busy. Here is the chapter for A Scarred Soul.**

Ivypaw

Ivypaw was sitting on her moss bed with her tail curled around her. She was lost in thought. She was thinking about her visit to RiverClan. She didn't remember giving a message. One second she was going to give it and the next she was being herded out of the clan with an escort. Did she fail? Or maybe…did she go into a trance and gave a message directly from StarClan?

Yes, that made a lot of sense. It was a message from StarClan so it would make sense that the message would be delivered from them exactly.

"Ivypaw?"

Ivypaw looked up and saw Dovepaw looking down on her. The pale gray she-cat titled her head to the side. "Are you alright? I've been calling you for a while now."

"I'm fine," snapped Ivypaw, annoyed that her sister had broken her train of thought. "I was just thinking to myself, that's all."

Dovepaw looked away and by the way she fidgeted, she was uncomfortable. "Oh," she said. She shook her head. "Cinderheart and Lionblaze want to take us out on a test today. They want to see how well we hunt."

"Is that all?" said Ivypaw. She got to her paws. "Shall we go then?" She wished she wasn't an apprentice. She had to help Brightheart on her quest to save the clans. How could she do it if she was busy with assessments and such?

The camp was normal. It was the same as it always was except for the heavy sadness that seemed to penetrate the air. Ivypaw felt like she would drown in it if she stayed out here too long.

"Briarlight was such a good member of the clan," whispered Dovepaw as she led the way out of camp.

"Uh huh," replied Ivypaw. She wasn't really paying attention to what Dovepaw was saying. She was lost in her own thoughts. She wondered what Brightheart was up to. How would she save the clans. It was probably going to be something awesome. What would it be? She didn't know but it was very exciting to think about. She looked up when she noticed that Dovepaw had stopped. Their mentors were nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sorry Ivypaw," said Dovepaw as she turned to face her sister. "I didn't mean to trick you but I have to talk to you away from the clan and you wouldn't come if I said anything otherwise."

Ivypaw's eyes turned cold.

Dovepaw shook her head. "Listen to me. Briarlight's death. It wasn't a suicide. She was thrown off the cliff. She was murdered."

That was not what Ivypaw was expecting. "What are you talking about?"

Dovepaw looked around cautiously, like the murderer was waiting in the shadows. "I wanted to warn you to be careful. You're my sister and I'll be worried if you didn't know."

Ivypaw looked away. Was here sister truly worried about her? Or was she just being nice to warn her? But this was Dovepaw. "Thanks for the warning," she said. "I'm going back to camp now." She left her sister and was on the way back to camp when she heard her name being called.

"Hey Ivypaw," Foxleap walked over. "Why are you up so early?"

"I…." Ivypaw's voice trailed off as she felt that sleepy sensation from before again. Like before she couldn't hang on to conscious. "I want to speak to you," she said to Foxleap, her voice taking on a more mature tone than before.

Foxleap blinked in surprise. "What about?"

Ivypaw shook her head. "Not here, later. We'll speak later. At the abandoned two-legged place. Tonight. Right after sunset sound good?"

Foxleap looked hesitant. "Ivypaw…"

Ivypaw made her eyes look big and pleading. "Please Foxleap. It's important that I tell you." She moved closer to the tom and wrapped her tail around his shoulders. "Please?"

Foxleap swallowed slowly and nodded. "Sure. I'll go."

"Great," purred Ivypaw. She retreated from Foxleap. "Don't tell anycat okay? It'll be our little secret. See you tonight." She didn't wait for an answer and instead she ran back to camp. It was time for phase one of her plan to be put into motion…

Brightheart

"Any leads?" asked Firestar when Brightheart returned from her consult with her chosen alive cat.

Brightheart shook her head. "No." She sighed deeply. They still didn't have a lead and she had a bad feeling that the other her was going to go into action soon. The only problem is that Brightheart didn't know what the plan was.

"We were still not able to gather anything from Briarlight either," said Frostfur. "Bumblepaw is with her now and he's trying but it looks like the only thing Briarlight saw was you Brightheart."

"I wish she knew why she saw me," said Brightheart quietly. Briarlight's comment had spread throughout StarClan and now even the cats that had a little faith in her were gone to the other side. If it wasn't for the fact that she had the backing of Firestar, Bluestar and some of the other influential clan cats she would already be kicked into the Dark Forest. She would not tell the others but the looks that the StarClan cats gave her…

"Brightheart. Are you okay?"

She forced herself to perk up a bit. "I'm fine Firestar. It's just that I'm not sure if we'll be able to defeat her in time."

"We will," said Frostfur. She stepped closer and wrapped her tail around her daughter to comfort her. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out. I promise you that."

"Maybe we should tell Jayfeather," suggested Swiftpaw as he walked into the clearing. He shot Brightheart a look to comfort her before focusing on Firestar. "Won't it be best if the clans know?"

"Would it?" asked Firestar. "We don't know anything about who the other Brightheart has contacted. We would just start up paranoia in the clans."

"What else can we do?" asked Swiftpaw. "Briarlight cannot tell us anything. I don't think the other Brightheart is going to wait for us to figure out who she has control over. She's going to strike when she wants to without our consent."

"We know that," said Firestar. "We know." He sighed. "Let's just observe for a bit longer before figuring out what to do next."


	14. Brightheart's Wish

**Well, here we are at the chapter that I've wanted to write ever since I started writing the sequel. Yup. Hope you all love it as much I do.**

"What brought this one all of a sudden?" asked Foxleap as the two cats settled down in the abandoned twolegged nest. Ivypaw picked up one of the mice she had taken from camp and pushed it before the red tom.

"I don't know," she purred in a low voice. "I just thought we could…talk." She gestured to the mouse before him. "Why don't you eat first though?"

"Come on Ivypaw," said Foxleap. "Just tell me what you want." His eyes widen as he suddenly had a thought. "Ivypaw. You're only an apprentice."

Ivypaw purred and placed her tail on Foxleap's shoulders and pulled herself closer to him. "Now now," she purred in his ear. "Why would you think that? Stop thinking like a tom." She pulled back and settled down next to him with her own mouse "Let's eat now shall we?" she asked as she bit into her mouse.

Foxleap watching her in confusion for a few moments before eating his own mouse. Ivypaw stopped eating to watch him eat his. Her pleasure grew bigger and bigger until he completely cleaned the mouse.

"Odd," said Foxleap. He rubbed his eyes with a paw. "I feel really sleepy now."

"That's alright," said Ivypaw gently. "Sleep now."

It wasn't like Foxleap had much of a say in the matter. She had stuffed his mouse full with poppy seeds. And the tom was too lovestruck by her to notice it. What a mouse-brain. A useful one but a mouse-brain.

She got to her paws and left Foxleap's sleeping body behind. She ran towards the camp as fast as she could go. She needed time for her plan to fully succeed. She was in luck. Dustpelt was about to go in with the evening patrol.

"Wait Dustpelt!" she called in a high and innocent voice.

The dark brown tabby paused and looked over at her. "Ivypaw. What is it?"

"I need to talk to you alone," she said in the innocent voice. "It's about Foxleap."

Thornclaw and Spiderleg, the other cats on the patrol chuckled. "Go with her," said Thornclaw.

Ivypaw ignored them. They weren't worth her time although she might give Thornclaw a little something specials for helping her out a bit.

"Fine," replied Dustpelt. He glared at the two toms before following Ivypaw to a dense part of the forest near the abandoned twolegged nest. Near the border that led to the river that Dovepaw had went the journey on.

"What do you want to talk about?" asked Dustpelt. He sat on his haunches.

Ivypaw chuckled and turned back to Dustpelt, her expression twisting into her own. "Dustpelt, Dustpelt, Dustpelt." She shook her head. "I am quite surprised with you."

Dustpelt stared at her in confusion. "Ivypaw? What's wrong? You sound different."

"Nice of you to pick it up," she sneered. She stretched to her full height which was much smaller than Dustpelt. "Of course you wouldn't recognize me in this body will you? How could you? You only know me as a part of another."

His expression darkened. "Brightheart?" he growled.

"Score one for the tom!" yowled Brightheart. She laughed again.

"What are you doing in Ivypaw's body?" he snarled as he unsheathed his claws.

"Oh my," said Brightheart. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You see, I have a young cat from your family under my paws at this very moment."

"Foxleap," whispered Dustpelt in dread.

"Yes. Your son is currently in my possession. He is currently knocked out with a very strong poison that I have given him." She sat back smugly on her haunches and began grooming herself. "He won't survive morning if I don't give him the antidote. Oh and don't think of trying to kill me," she added when she saw Dustpelt looked like he wanted to murder her. "You see, the antidote is not something a medicine cat would know. It's something I picked up in the dark forest. If you kill me, your son will die. And trust me. It's quite a gruesome way to."

Dustpelt hissed in anger. "What do you want then? Revenge? Revenge on me for killing you? I don't regret it. I don't regret killing a monster like you."

Brightheart slowly shook her head. "No. I do not want that," she said. She got to her paws and made her way over to Dustpelt. She twinned her tail around his and leaned close to his ear. "I want you to become my mate." She released him and gently glided away from him.

"What?" hissed Dustpelt. He couldn't believe it. She knew he couldn't believe it.

"Like I said," purred Brightheart. "I want you to be my mate. It's not a hard concept. I will become your mate and I will save your son's life."

"Why should I believe you?" snarled Dustpelt. "You aren't trustworthy at all. You will lie to get what you want."

Brightheart sighed. "I'm not stupid. I can't kill cats off like I used to. Plus I really enjoy Foxleap's company."

Dustpelt glared at her with hatred. Pure hatred for this she-cat that ruined everycat's life. Brightheart didn't mind the stares. In fact she enjoyed them. It's been a while since she was stared at like that. How invigorating. "Now kneel," she said coldly. "You won't be able to find your son. I made sure of it. If you want to cause Ferncloud more grief then I will lead her to Foxleap myself and force her to watch as her son scream in pain. And then I will force her to endure the same thing."

"Don't you dare touch my family!" yowled Dustpelt. He released a battle cry and dove for Ivypaw. However her body was quick and nimble while his was slowing down due to age. She sidestepped him with ease and whirled around to face him again.

"Now now," she said. "Don't do that. You're just making it worse for yourself." Her expression turned cold and Dustpelt thought he saw the rage of the Dark Forest at her back. "Your kit will die horribly. Your mate will die horribly. Everycat will die horribly unless you accept this."

"I will not," growled Dustpelt. "I will never betray my mate."

"Fine then. I guess your son will just have to die. Matters not to me." She turned and disappeared into the shadows.

Dustpelt growled in anger. He couldn't believe it. She was back. That evil cat that he had killed moons ago was back. What could he do? He had to tell Bramblestar. A search party needed to be sent out to save his son's life. He was about to when something smashed on his body, his head smacked painfully against the ground. He could feel the darkness trying to pull him under but he fought it. He fought it with everything he had but it was in vain. The last thing he saw was Brightheart looking down at him smugly.


	15. Dustpelt

**Well, here is another crazy chapter with our favorite cat other Brightheart! Yay! Anyway, like always, enjoy!**

Dustpelt opened his eyes. The forest was dark; the moonlight could not make it through the trees. Ivypaw was before him, grooming herself. No. This was not Ivypaw. This was the monster Brightheart. He didn't know how she did it but she had taken over Ivypaw's body.

"Oh. Looks like you're finally awake," Brightheart looked down on him with Ivypaw's blue eyes. It was weird to see such a lustful look on an apprentice's face.

"Brightheart," Dustpelt tried to get up but he realized he couldn't as pain flashed through his paws. Looking down he saw with shock that his paws were smashed to bits. She had broken every bone in his paws.

"Oh yes," said Brightheart. "Just thought I might have to do that to prevent you from attacking me. Worked well too. You know, I did the same thing to Briarlight as well." Brightheart chuckled. "She was crying like a kit and was probably screaming in pain." She threw her head back. "Oh. That was filling."

"You're sick," spat Dustpelt.

Brightheart looked down on him. "No I am not. It's this clan that's sick. Outsiders and such. ThunderClan is a joke." She leaned in close to Dustpelt but not close enough that he could bite her. "I refuse to accept that I am from a clan like that."

"What are you?" growled Dustpelt. He had to get her to keep talking to give him more time to think of a plan. There was no way he could escape with his paws broken like this and it probably wouldn't be until morning that someone would begin to worry about where he's been. His amber eyes locked on Brightheart's throat. He didn't want to end Ivypaw's life but to stop Brightheart again he would.

"What I am?" Brightheart unsheathed her claws and began to trace patterns in the dirt. "I'm me. I am Brightheart. The strong powerful one who knows what it truly means to be a warrior of ThunderClan. I will return ThunderClan-no everything back to the way it should be." A sneer crossed her face and she lifted a paw and she touched her stomach. "And I may be the bearer of your kits."

Dustpelt felt his blood turn cold and Brightheart laughed. A sick laugh that tormented the soul. He couldn't believe it. When he was unconscious did she? From the smug way she stood he assumed that she did. She had taken him as her mate without his permission.

Ferncloud.

Oh StarClan. Even though he was unwilling he had cheated on his mate. And knowing Brightheart she would make sure he was her mate and the father of her kits.

"Now now," whispered Brightheart. She leaned closer and ran her claws along Dustpelt's neck. "I wish you would understand my plan. I wish you would understand what I am trying to accomplish."

If Brightheart could even have a sweet side this was it. This twisted messed up way that she loved him. Dustpelt just wanted to rip the smirk off her face. He wanted to move away to keep her filthy paws away from him. But he did not know how she would react if he did. He had to be careful. One wrong move and she might go after Ferncloud next.

"I could never understand someone crazy like you," growled Dustpelt. "How could you take over the body of a she-cat?" He trailed off as he realized something. "Oh StarClan…Ivypaw…"

Brightheart chuckled. "Oh my. Finally got it didn't you?"

Ivypaw, an apprentice, only a young apprentice, the body who Brightheart had taken over. It wasn't Brightheart who would have kits. It would be Ivypaw. A young cat whose reputation would be tarnished because of this.

"I wonder how the clan would react to something like this?" Brightheart moved away from Dustpelt and began to pace around him. "A young she-cat like Ivypaw. Falling in love with a tom and then," she gasped loudly, "having kits? What would everycat think? What would Whitewing think? They would be heartbroken."

"Dustpelt growled in frustration. There had to be something he could do to stop her! Anything.

Brightheart approached Dustpelt again. Like last time she ran her claws along Dustpelt's neck. "If only you understood," she whispered softly. "Then I could let you live." She looked up at him and her eyes revealed her malice. "But no. You must not be allowed to live." And with a sweep of her paw, her claws dug deep into Dustpelt's neck and tore it apart.

As Dustpelt lay dying on the forest floor with Brightheart laughing over him, the last thought that ran through his head was, _"It's not over. StarClan, it's not over. I will stop you Brightheart. Even in StarClan I will stop you."_

**Yup. A bit shorter chapter but after a bit of debating I decided that having the full thing in Dustpelt's point of view was probably the best. Next chapter will be much longer I promise!**


	16. Aftermath

**Well here we are at another chapter. This is the turning point chapter where everything really begins.**

Ivypaw felt sick.

"And now we should practice that move," came Cinderheart's voice from what sounded like far away. "Ivypaw? Are you alright?"

Ivypaw quickly ran to the bushes right before she released the mouse she had eaten before. "Ivypaw!" exclaimed Cinderheart in surprise. She ran to her apprentice's side and began to massage the she-cat's back. When Ivypaw was finished she still felt nausea. "Let's get you back to camp," said Cinderheart gently.

Ivypaw let her mentor lead the way. What was wrong with her? She had felt off for a couple of days now but she had kept quiet about it. Dustpelt had gone missing and Bramblestar was sending out patrols to find out what happened to him. And to make matters worse, it looked like Foxleap was avoiding her. What was that about?

They are back at camp faster than Ivypaw thought possible and Cinderheart herded her to see Jayfeather. The blind tom dropped the leaves he was tending to and began to examine Ivypaw.

After a few moments he looked over at Cinderheart. "She's alright but I want to keep her here for the rest of today just in case."

Cinderheart nodded. "Alright." She bid her apprentice farewell before leaving.

It was then that Jayfeather focused his full attention onto Ivypaw. Ivypaw didn't know why but Jayfeather suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "This might seem strange," he began slowly. "But um, have you, um, taken a mate?"

Ivypaw stared at Jayfeather in surprise. It took a couple of moments for the thought to finally register. "What?" she cried. "Of course not! I'm an apprentice! How could you ask such a thing?"

Now Jayfeather looked even more uncomfortable. "You have all the signs of the beginning of..."

"No way!" Ivypaw backed away from Jayfeather. "This is just a joke right! I didn't. I mean I-"

"Oh StarClan!"

Jayfeather and Ivypaw both jumped as Foxleap came in. The tom looked distraught.

"What is going on?" asked Jayfeather.

Foxleap's head dropped. "Oh StarClan. I didn't think it would happen. You told me there was a possibility that it wasn't true. You told me there was a chance that you wouldn't…"

"What are you talking about?" cried Ivypaw.

Foxleap looked miserable. "I'm sorry Ivypaw! I'm sorry! I now it's all my fault."

"What are you talking about?" repeated Ivypaw.

"Foxleap," Jayfeather stepped towards the tom. "What happened? Start at the beginning."

Foxleap nodded. "It happened a couple days ago. The night that my father disappeared. We…you wanted to talk to me so we went to the abandoned twolegged nest. And…" He squeezed his eyes shut.

"And?" prompted Jayfeather.

"I don't remember but when I woke up you were there Ivypaw. And you…you told me…" He looked down. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry Ivypaw. I will take responsibility for them."

Jayfeather's ears flicked. "You raped her?"

Ivypaw felt her blood turn cold. She couldn't think straight anymore. "What?" A small forced laugh left her mouth. "What are you talking about? I don't remember anything?"

"Ivypaw…" Foxleap took a step towards her but Jayfeather put himself between her and him. "Foxleap," he said coldly. "It would be best if you don't go anywhere near Ivypaw. Will you go willing to Bramblestar to tell him what you've done?"

Foxleap nodded. "Yes. I will."

"Then go do that," said Jayfeather coldly. After Foxleap was gone Jayfeather returned to Ivypaw's side. "Are you alright?"

"I don't remember that," she whispered. "I don't remember that at all!" She stared at Jayfeather. "It's not true!"

"I'm sorry," said Jayfeather softly. "But a traumatic event can cause memory loss. You might not remember it but he does. Bramblestar will decide what to do with him."

"It's not true!" screamed Ivypaw. She pushed past Jayfeather and out into the open air of the camp. Everything was normal. Poppyfrost's kits were playing by the nursery. The elders were sunning themselves. Warriors were running in and out. It was a normal day but it wasn't.

"Ivypaw…" Dovepaw's eyes were filled with sorrow as she walked up to her sister. "I'm sorry Ivypaw. I can't believe this happened."

Ivypaw didn't understand how Dovepaw could know about this but she didn't care. "Dovepaw!" she sobbed before collapsing to the ground.

Everything began to pass by as a blur to Ivypaw after that. She was moved to the nursery while Foxleap was exiled. Ferncloud took it upon herself to care for Ivypaw as the two moons went by to make up for what her son had done. Cats would come by every now and then to comfort her but she didn't hear any of it. She was gone inside. She couldn't believe this happened. Even as her stomach grew bigger with kits she would not accept it. The kits weren't hers. She was not having kits.

Linelineline

Ivypaw blinked. She was in the green field that she would train with Brightheart. She turned around and there she was. Ivypaw's mentor.

"Brightheart!" she yowled. She ran to her mentor's side and buried her head into the she-cat's white fur. "I'm…I'm…"

"You're going to have kits," stated Brightheart. She said it like it was a fact. "And any day now too."

Ivypaw looked down miserably. "I am. I didn't think I would have kits like this. I thought I would fall in love when I was a warrior and this would happen but…" She struggled to hold back sobs. "I didn't want it to be like this!"

"Of course you didn't," whispered Brightheart. She used a paw to pull Ivypaw close. "All you wanted was to become a warrior."

Ivypaw nodded. "Yes. A warrior. Nothing more. A warrior."

"Then you do not want to be a mother?"

"No. I don't."

"Good then."

It was then that Ivypaw felt a searing pain along her back. She yowled in pain and recoiled away from Brightheart in shock. The she-cat looked down at her claws, now stained with Ivypaw's blood. Her expression was one of pure evil.

"What are you doing?" cried Ivypaw.

"You said you didn't want to be a mother," replied Brightheart. "So I'm removing you. Quite simple really."

Ivypaw's legs were shaking as she backed away from Brightheart. "What are you talking about? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me," chuckled Brightheart. "You just never saw the real me that's all." She lifted her paw and licked Ivypaw's blood off her claws. "You see I did not come to you because I cared about you. You were a relative of mine. So it would be easy to use you to bring myself back for my revenge. And I've gotten pretty good at it too."

"What are you talking about?" Ivypaw couldn't comprehend what was happening. Why was Brightheart acting like this?

"Did you ever feel like you were missing something? Some time that you couldn't remember? I know. A rape that you couldn't remember?"

Ivypaw turned cold. "You didn't."

Brightheart laughed. A laugh of pure evil. "Oh yes I did. I was controlling your body. And now I want full control!" Before Ivypaw could react Brightheart's claws had torn through her neck. She stood over Ivypaw and laughed. "Oh yes. And to tell you the truth, Foxleap didn't rape you. I raped Dustpelt."

Ivypaw tried to protest but her voice would not come as she felt herself being dragged down into darkness as her blood began to soak the one place which she thought was her sanctuary.

Brightheart on the other paw raced towards Ivypaw's body. As soon as she entered she felt a searing pain in her lower body and she knew it was time. Unlike Ivypaw who would have panicked, she didn't.

She could hear Ferncloud and Poppyfrost hovering over her, Ferncloud's commanding tone telling her what to do. She ignored the voice of her mate's mate and focused on pushing the kits out. She waited two moons for this. They will be born. In the middle of it all Jayfeather had come in and he was also trying to tell her what to do but she ignored his voice as well. These were her kits. She would get them out without the help of others.

As fast as it began, it was over.

"Three kits," whispered Ferncloud's voice from somewhere above her.

"Ivypaw, if you don't want to raise them one of the other queens will," said Jayfeather.

"No," she whispered as she wrapped her tail around the three kits. Her kits. "I will raise them. They are not who their father is."

The three cats surprise at Ivypaw had actually spoken reason flashed across their faces. Brightheart looked down at the three bundles of fur. Two she-cats and a tom. "The pure white one will be Bonekit and the white and ginger will be Emberkit." She chuckled when her attention focused on the last kit. The tom. His fur was dark brown with tabby stripes. "Dustkit. He will be named Dustkit."


	17. Dustpelt in StarClan

**So here is the next chapter. Dustpelt has taken center stage again. Yay! -throws confetti-**

Dustpelt looked around. The huge starry sky above and the way the lush grass bent over in a gentle breeze. StarClan. This was StarClan. He lifted a paw to his throat and felt his neck. No wound.

"Dustpelt?"

The tom looked up and involuntarily flinched, "Brightheart. No. You're the real Brightheart."

Brightheart's eyes lit up in surprise. "You know that I am?" Her voice shook and she dropped her head. "Thank StarClan. I thought you would be like Briarlight."

"Briarlight? She's here?"

Brightheart fake laughed. "She was also killed by the other me." She perked up. "Do you know who it was? Which cat was she controlling?"

Dustpelt thought for a moment but for some reason he couldn't place who it was. All he could think of was Brightheart killing him. He knew that she was probably controlling some other cat but he just couldn't place it.

"No good then," said Brightheart. She sighed. "I thought so. Briarlight is the same. She only sees me, well the old me. With the scarred face." She shook her head. "What am I doing? Come on. Firestar wants to talk to you."

"Firestar does?" Dustpelt said in surprise. Of course. This was StarClan. Firestar was here.

"We…I mean, all of us cats involved in the incident with my other self are trying to take care of this situation," explained Brightheart as they walked through StarClan.

Dustpelt saw many cats about, all seemly going about their daily business. All of these cats had stars on their pelts and all looked young and vibrant. This was StarClan. It looked so happy.

"Dustpelt!"

Dustpelt froze in shock as the owner of the voice ran over. "Robinwing," he whispered.

The small brown she-cat pushed her nose into her son's fur. "My kit. You've grown so much."

Dustpelt couldn't believe he was seeing his mother again! After watching her die in a badger attack he had thought that this meeting wouldn't be possible. "It's good to see you again," he purred to the she-cat.

Robinwing backed up a few steps to look over her son. Her happiness faded away when she noticed Brightheart. "Come on Dustpelt," she said quickly. She wrapped her tail around her son's shoulder. "Your father Fuzzypelt will want to see you again along with your mentor."

"But I have to go with Brightheart," he replied. "Firestar wants to see me."

"I'll take you to him," said Robinwing. She glared at Brightheart who shrunk away from the look. "You don't want to be seen with _her._"

Dustpelt blinked in surprise at the malice in his mother's voice. He looked over at Brightheart to see if she would defend herself but she was just staring pitifully at the ground. "What are you talking about?" he said. "She didn't kill me. It was the other one."

Robingwing removed her tail from her son's shoulder. "Oh Dustpelt. Don't tell me you were also caught up in her lies. This cat was the one that killed you for StarClan's sake. Almost everycat wants her to be thrown in the Dark Forest for what she's done. She doesn't deserve those stars on her pelt."

"She's right," said Brightheart quietly. "I'll go now."

"Hang on Brightheart," said Dustpelt as she turned to leave. The tom stepped away from his mother and went to Brightheart's side. "I know she didn't do it," he said firmly. "I was the one that sent her to StarClan in the first place. She thanked me in the end when I ended her life."

"But," cried Robinwing. "If it wasn't for her then you wouldn't be dead now! You would be able to live with Ferncloud and your kits."

"But she must bear a bigger burden than anyone," replied Dustpelt. "The whole clan thinks she is a murderer. Her mate and daughter have rejected her. Even if they come to StarClan it isn't certain that they will believe about this two Brightheart thing. She's suffering enough as it is."

Robinwing's mouth dropped open in surprise and Brightheart just stared at Dustpelt.

"Come on Brightheart," said Dustpelt. "You said you wanted me to join the cats who will actually fight for the right cause?"

"Right," said Brightheart happily. "This way."

Brightheart led the way away from Robinwing but Dustpelt could feel her staring at the back of his head as they walked on.

"Thanks," she said quietly as they made their way through the forest of StarClan.

Dustpelt shook his head. "It's true what I said. It's not your fault." He noticed cats were watching them as they passed, their looks of hate all directed to the she-cat next to him. "Is everycat like this to you?"

"Mostly," replied Brightheart. "Oh, don't worry about me though. I'm used to it."

Dustpelt just watched her silently. What did she have to go through everyday up here in StarClan?

"We're here," announced Brightheart as they entered a clearing. Frostfur, Firestar, Swiftpaw and Bumblepaw were waiting for them.

"Brightheart!" the young tom bounded over to her. He glared at Dustpelt. "You better not have been mean to her!"

Dustpelt chuckled. This was not surprising. Bumblepaw had been really attached to Brightheart when he was alive. It made sense that the young tom would still be like that after his death.

"I take it you understand the situation then," said Firestar.

Dustpelt looked over at the old leader of ThunderClan and dipped his head in respect. "Of course. I was killed by the other her. I don't remember which cat it was but…"

"That's fine then," said Frostfur. "It doesn't matter. As long as we have more help then it will be possible to solve this problem."

"But we still don't know who the cat other Brightheart is controlling is," pointed out Swiftpaw.

"We will figure it out," said Dustpelt firmly. "I know it."

Firestar nodded. "Bumblepaw. Try to speak with your sister again to try to convince her to join us."

"Alright!"

"I'll try to convince Squirrelfight and Leafpool," continued Firestar.

"I will try some of the older cats," offered Frostfur.

"I will try as well," said Swiftpaw.

The group all disappeared into different areas of StarClan, leaving Brightheart alone with Dustpelt again. "Thanks again for joining to help us," she said quietly. "You have really inspired us to keep going again."

"No problem," replied Dustpelt. He froze as memories hit him in full force. "Oh StarClan…" he whispered.

"What is it?" Brightheart looked up at him in concern.

"Kits," he said slowly. "Oh StarClan. I remember. She raped me so she could have kits."

"Then that would make it easier to find her," said Brightheart. A fire lit up in her eyes. "We can find her now." She turned to go. "I need to speak to her."


	18. And Now it Begins

**So here's the next chapter! True craziness has BEGUN!**

"Ivypaw! Watch me! Watch me!" Bonekit dropped into a hunting crouch and slowly crept up to Emberkit. She jumped onto her sister's back. Emberkit squealed in surprise, knocked her sister away and ran to hide behind her mother. Dustkit on the other hand was grooming himself.

The past two moons since the birth of her kits had been going great. The kits have been growing and growing and now they were active and running around like real kits. These past two moons overall had been pretty uneventful. Cats would give her sympathy, send her "poor you" looks and honestly she didn't care much. They were all a stepping stone to her goal. Plus it was finally time for her true mission to begin.

Her kits were at the perfect age now. They were ready to be taken to their destiny.

"They grow up so fast don't they?" Ferncloud padded over and settled down next to Ivypaw by the fresh-kill pile. Brightheart stifled the urge to move away. Oh StarClan, dealing with this she-cat for two months was the worst thing ever. It was worse than dealing with Tigerstar's rants on how everyone wronged him, how StarClan needed to be punished, blah blah blah.

"Yes they do," said Brightheart in a pleasant tone.

"If only Dustpelt was here," Ferncloud shook her head. "He's been missing for over four moons now. I fear that he has…he has passed on into StarClan."

"Maybe," said Brightheart with no emotion in her voice. If she said anything else she knew she would flip and rip Ferncloud's tongue out. How dare she talk about Dustpelt in that way. She didn't deserve to have his name leave her mouth.

The camp was quiet for the evening. Cats were going about their daily business and setting sun cast a red glow to everything. It was like the color of blood. Brightheart struggled to not yowl in glee. What a nice gift from StarClan. A nice sign. She looked over at Jayfeather who had entered the medicine cat den. Could he read the sign? This was the beginning of everything. Tonight was when her true plan would be put into motion.

"Ivypaw?" asked Ferncloud.

"Yes?" she turned her head to the pale gray she-cat.

"I think it's time for you to put the kits to bed," Ferncloud gestured to the three kits tumbling over each other.

"In a bit," replied Brightheart. "I think I'll take them for a walk through the forest. They look too active right now."

"You might be right," agreed Ferncloud. "Should I come with you?"

Brightheart shook her head and got to her paws. "No, it's fine. I'll be able to take care of them myself. Come on kits!" she called to them. "Let's go out into the forest!"

"Ivypaw is taking us out into the forest!" cried Bonekit excitedly.

"She's taking us out!" agreed Emberkit.

Only Dustkit didn't voice his enthusiasm but his eyes clearly showed that he was excited as well.

Brightheart laughed. "Come on kits. Let's go."

The three kits followed Brightheart out of camp. Spiderleg and Brackenfur were coming in and they stopped as the four cats came out.

"Going for a walk?" asked Spiderleg.

"We are!" replied Emberkit. She bounced up and down. "We're going on adventure!"

"We're going on an adventure!" agreed Bonekit.

Dustkit just nodded to the two older warriors.

"Come on kits," said Brightheart proudly. "This way!" She led her kits through the forest. She would stop every now and then to make sure her kits were keeping up with her before walking on in her quick pace.

They reached the border of ShadowClan and ThunderClan and Brightheart immediately walked down to the lake until they were five taillengths from the store.

"Ivypaw?" asked Dustkit in confusion. "Isn't this the border? We shouldn't be here. ShadowClan will be mad."

"Don't worry about it," said Brightheart. "They won't mind." She heard a noise behind her and he growled under her breath. "Kits. I want you three to follow the lake until you get to the next border. Bonekit, you lead because you have the best sense of smell. There you will probably see one or two cats. RiverClan cats. Tell them you are Ivypaw's kits. Tell them that I will be there soon. Wait with them. Can you do that for me kits?" She turned to Dustkit. "Keep your sisters in line okay?"

Dustkit nodded.

"Let's go! Let's go!" yelled Bonekit. She took off in a run with Emberkit and Dustkit.

Brightheart chuckled and then she turned serious and turned around. "Come on out."

Dovepaw stepped out of the shadows. Her eyes were filled with confusion and sorrow. "Ivypaw. I can't believe this."

Brightheart's face transformed into a sneer. "Dovepaw. The sister of this body."

"Brightheart," hissed Dovepaw. She entered a battle pose but she still look confused and unsure.

"How did you know?" asked Brightheart. She wasn't too surprised by this. "Let me guess. Brightheart, the weak one came to you and told you to look out for me." She chuckled. "So, why'd you wait so long? I think Dustpelt would have told you that I raped someone. I mean come on. It doesn't take long to figure out what's going on."

"I didn't believe it," whispered Dovepaw. "Brightheart told me and you were the only one but I refused to do anything." She shook her head, "I couldn't believe the fact that if was you. I thought it couldn't be my sister. She was stronger than this."

"Your sister is dead," said Brightheart. "She died when my kits were born." She sneered at Dovepaw and lifted one of her paws and unsheathed her claws. "And now I might want to tear you up."

Dovepaw shivered, her legs knocking with each other. She looked frightened out of her mind. "Ivypaw. Please. Please. I want my sister back. I wish this never happened."

"Sorry but wishing won't get you anymore," Brightheart stepped closer to Dovepaw and the she-cat involuntarily took a step back. "I want you to tell StarClan something. Brightheart is back and she will get her revenge on StarClan."

Dovepaw took another step back. "Ivypaw. Ivypaw please don't. Ivypaw-"

"Ivypaw's dead!" Brightheart smacked her paw againist Dovepaw's head. The pale gray she-cat tumbled to the ground. She looked up at Brightheart with fear and confusion. What a fool. She still saw her sister. Not Brightheart but her sister.

Brightheart turned away from Dovepaw. "You are worthless to kill now." She broke into a run and ran over the ShadowClan border and didn't stop until she reached the RiverClan border. Mintfur and Robinwing were waiting with her kits.

"Ivypaw!" exclaimed Emberkit, running back to her mother.

"Brightheart," Mintfur and Robwing both dipped their heads to the she-cat.

"Let's go to camp," she ordered the toms before looking down at her kits. "Ready for an adventure?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Bonekit and Emberkit.

Dustkit just nodded.


	19. To RiverClan

**Here is the next chapter! **

"We were awaiting your arrival," spoke Volestar as Brightheart stepped into the leader's den. The deputy Graymist was waiting as well. Brightheart had left her kits outside with the queens, Mosspelt and Duskfur. They were good kits and the future but this was a serious matter and dealing with kits was not a part of the plan.

"Of course," replied Brightheart. She settled down and began grooming her paws. "I have come to save the clans from the reign of the kittypets and such."

"And for that we are grateful," spoke Volestar. He dipped his head to her. "We were awaiting your arrival for the past two moons but I didn't expect…"

"Don't worry about the kits," replied Brightheart. She looked up at the leader and deputy. "They are a part of my plan. It may be surprising but that is the truth. Those kits are important."

"But who is the father?" asked Graymist.

Brightheart glared at her with piercing blue eyes. "That doesn't matter. The father is dead so it doesn't matter." She turned her attention back to Volestar. "There's going to be a bit of changes around here but the first thing I want done is Mothwing take on another apprentice and begin training the apprentice immediately."

"What?" asked Graymist in surprise. "What about Willowshine?"

"Willowshine is a problem," said Brightheart. "She has unfortunately been swayed by StarClan."

Graymist and Volestar were clearly surprised by this. "Does this mean Willowshine will have to die?" asked Volestar. Even though he clearly didn't like the idea, it was obvious he would do this if Brightheart wished it to be done.

She shook her head. "No. Don't worry. Willowshine doesn't need to die…but she will lose her medicine cat position so I need another to take her place because…I have a different plan for Willowshine."

"What is it?" asked Graymist.

"Bring her over to my side," replied Brightheart. She got to her paws. "Is there a place that's large and quiet? A cave of some sort?"

"There's one at the edge of the territory," replied Graymist.

"Good," said Brightheart. She turned to Volestar. "I want two toms to take Willowshine there. I will meet them there later and give them further instructions." She turned to leave. It was time to begin. Her clan was now born.

Brightheart

Brightheart entered the clearing; the group of cats that were part of the fight were already there.

"Sorry," said Brightheart quietly. "I was held up." She joined the group and sat down. She could feel Swiftpaw staring at her. It was like he knew she wasn't just "held up". She was actually being verbally abused by some cats from ShadowClan. It had almost gotten to the point of an actual attack but they stopped in time for that Brightheart was happy for StarClan's morals to not attack anyone here.

"Well then," said Firestar. "Shall we figure out the next course of action? Dovepaw refused to do anything and now Ivypaw-or should I say Brightheart has now made her move and joined RiverClan. She is probably going to make her next move and we all know it won't be good for anyone."

"Of course it won't," scoffed Dustpelt. "She will pretty much wipe off ThunderClan before going after all the cats with any trace of half-blood or anything."

"She's crazy, no doubt about that," said Frostfur. "But what can we do? The only cat we have in RiverClan is Willowshine and we know what's going to happen to her…" She shook her head.

Brightheart wished she could say any words of comfort to her mother. StarClan's ability to see into the future a bit actually turned up something about the current predicament. They had seen Willowshine. But not the same Willowshine but a…Brightheart shook her head. No. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think of what Willowshine would become. And it was all her fault.

"Brightheart," spoke Dustpelt. "Do not blame yourself. It is not your fault that this happened."

Brightheart shook her head. "It is my fault Dustpelt," she said. "No matter what, it is my fault." She looked at Dustpelt head-on. "If I was strong this wouldn't have happened. It is my fault."

Linelinelineline

"What are you doing?" spat Willowshine as Brightheart stepped into the cave. She had spent some time with her kits before telling them that this was their home now. They made a fuss at first but were quickly distracted by the RiverClan kits. Brightheart told Volestar to take care of them for a couple of days and for food to be left outside everyday as well as moss soaked in water.

Brightheart let out a long breath and waited at the entrance for her eyes to adjust. Hmm. Ivypaw was shorter than Willowshine. That was interesting. Whatever. This body was still growing. She would tower over Willowshine later.

"Willowshine, Willowshine, Willowshine," Brightheart chuckled and stepped towards the she-cat. "I know all about you. I know that you reject me."

"Of course I do," snapped Willowshine. "You are a horrible she-cat! You kill cats to make yourself happy. How can you live with yourself when you have killed cats for your own pleasure?"

Brightheart faked a big yawn. "You done yet? Your speech is really tiring me out. I don't think I could handle another one." Her face twisted to her mad face. "Let's make it stop now shall we?"

**Okay, chapter is going to end there. Now, the next chapter will be written as a separate one-shot because it will have an M rating. Yes. It gets very very violent and I don't want to try to keep it under T cause that won't be fun. :D**


	20. Brightheart's Plan

**I know many of you are asking where the bloody chapter of Willowshine getting tortured is; well it came down to a situation of what I wanted to write more, the next chapter or the extra chapter and the next chapter won out in the end. If I have time during winter break besides updating the other stories, I'll get around to writing that one-shot for you all!**

Brightheart stepped back from her handiwork. She stretched her muscles out and stepped out of the cave to the bright morning sunlight. Two mice sat before her paws. A gift from RiverClan. She chuckled. "Awww. There're so sweet for trying to feed me what I ate back in ThunderClan." She sat down and began eating the two mice. Her thoughts shifted to her kits. Bonekit, Emberkit and Dustkit. She would have to pick out the best mentors for them in RiverClan. She would love to train them herself but she had so much work to do.

She looked down at her light gray paws. She would also need to do something about this. She was in the body of a young she-cat. Brightheart sighed. She didn't really know what to do with this body. It was still smaller than her original one. Everything was still so different. She heard a sound behind her coming from the cave.

"Finally," said Brightheart loudly. "I didn't think you would ever wake up." She looked back. A gray she-cat stepped out. Her body was covered in deep cuts. A long scar ran along her face. Brightheart noticed that the torn right ear didn't seem so out of place anymore. Well that was good. "How are you feeling?"

The she-cat looked up at Brightheart with dark blue eyes. "I am alright," she spoke, her voice at a slight monotone.

"Good then," said Brightheart. She got to her paws. "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you Willowshine. Now. Shall we head back to RiverClan? They're probably waiting for us now."

"Of course," Willowshine dipped her head to Brightheart.

"Then let us be on our way then," said Brightheart cheerfully. She took off in a brisk walk with Willowshine close behind her. As they made their way back to RiverClan Brightheart began going over the past couple of days in her head. She loved those few days. She loved hearing Willowshine's screams of pain. Her screams for Brightheart to just kill her. But Brightheart never let that happen. She would patch up Willowshine's wounds and let them heal a bit before doing it all over again. And her plan succeeded in the end. She looked to her left where Willowshine was walking. The gray she-cat was completely broken now. A nice little pawn for Brightheart. How wonderful it was to take one of the cats that hated her and turn her into a loyal follower.

"You are happy about this right?" asked Brightheart. "Happy that you finally decided to see that my side is the best way."

Willowshine nodded. "Of course Brightheart. Your way will always be superior."

Brightheart chuckled. "Of course."

When they reached the camp Brightheart was the first to enter. Immediately all the RiverClan cats stopped what they were doing to focus on her. Gasps rang out when Willowshine walked in after her.

"Ivypaw!" Bonekit and Emberkit ran over to their mother with Dustkit right behind them.

"Hello my kits," Brightheart purred to them. "How have the three of you been?"

"We've been having a fun time!" cried Emberkit. She bounced up and down. "We were beginning to learn how to swim. Duskfur was teaching us!"

"And we like fish!" put in Bonekit. "Except you have to be careful that you don't eat the bones." She made a face. "Bones are icky!"

"When are we going home?" asked Dustkit quietly. "Back to ThunderClan?"

Emberkit sighed. "Dustkit has been saying that non-stop for the past couple of days," she complained. "He won't be quiet about it!"

"Dustkit," said Brightheart gently. "This is our home."

Dustkit looked up at his mother in surprise. "But I want to be a ThunderClan warrior."

A look of irritation crossed Brightheart's face but it was quickly replaced by love. "Well, it'll get better. Don't you worry about it. Now, I want you three to be good kits for Duskfur for a little bit longer. I need to speak with Volestar about important matters."

"Alright Ivypaw!"

Brightheart turned her attention away from the kits and walked into the leader's den. Volestar and Graymist were waiting for her inside. Good. Then she wouldn't have to worry about waiting for them to get here.

"Give me an update on the camp activities for the past couple of days," said Brightheart. "Don't worry about Willowshine," she added when she noticed they were looking at Willowshine who had followed Brightheart into the den. "I persuaded her to join our side."

"We did what you said," said Volestar. "Mothwing now is training Mossypaw on the medicine cat ways."

"Good," said Brightheart. She made a mental note to have a word with the she-cat later. She had to make sure that the she-cat would not be persuaded by StarClan. All she had to learn was to heal and then Brightheart could get rid of Mothwing. Having a half-ThunderClanner in the medicine cat position was just infuriating. Or would it be considered half-ShadowClan? She chuckled as she thought of Tigerstar. He was probably furious out of his mind at the moment. She growled. Tigerstar.

"What's wrong?" asked Graymist.

Brightheart shook her head. "Nothing. I just thought of a problem that we will have. It involves Tigerstar."

"Isn't he dead?" asked Volestar.

Brightheart shook her head. "It's more complicated than that." She began giving a quick summary of Tigerstar's plan. How he was using his relatives to gain an army to fight with in both StarClan and in the living world.

"How horrible!" hissed Volestar.

Graymist nodded in agreement.

"The only way to stop him is to remove all of his connections to the living world," said Brightheart. "We need to get all of the cats related to him here in our camp as prisoners."

"Why?" asked Graymist. "Wouldn't it be better to kill them?"

"It would be," agreed Brightheart. "But Tigerstar needs to be stopped once and for all. And I can do that. After he knows that I am serious about it. And to do that I need all of his connections. And for that we need to capture the ones in other clans."

"How can we do that?" asked Volestar.

"The gathering is coming up," replied Brightheart. "We'll use that to our advantage." Her thoughts shifted to her sister and the other members of the three. It would be best to get rid of them too. "We'll return the clans to their glory days!"

Volestar and Graymist yowled in agreement.

"Let's spend the days before to get ready for the gathering," ordered Brightheart. "Make sure what WindClan and ShadowClan see are you behaving as you always do when you perform border patrols. We do not want to give away what we know."

"Of course," said Volestar. "I will tell the rest of the clan."

"Good," said Brightheart. She turned to leave with Willowshine in tow. "Oh and one more thing." She looked back at the leader and deputy. "While you are announcing our plans tell everyone this. I want to be referred by the name Brightivy." She chuckled as she left the leader's den.


End file.
